WORCESTER, MA — Police are looking for Karen Solomon, the co-founder of the law enforcement mental health group Blue H.E.L.P., after an off-duty Worcester police officer was found dead at a home in the city.
Authorities said the officer was identified as Kurt Solomon, who had served with the Worcester Police Department for 31 years. Investigators said they want to speak with Karen Solomon about what happened inside the residence.
Officer identified as Kurt Solomon after welfare check at Wildwood Avenue home
Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier said officers responded on Aug. 18 to a Wildwood Avenue address for a report of a person down. When they arrived, they found a deceased man later identified as Kurt Solomon.
The Worcester Police Department said it was actively seeking Karen Solomon, 58, in connection with the death of a man at her residence. Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early said she is considered a suspect and that investigators want to question her.
Search expands with local, state and federal law enforcement help
Police said the search for Karen Solomon involved Worcester police personnel and K-9 teams, Massachusetts State Police troopers, the State Police Air Wing and Special Emergency Response Team, and federal agencies including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Saucier said the FBI had also offered help. Police previously issued a reverse 911 alert covering about a 2.5-mile area around the scene and told residents not to approach Solomon if they saw her.
Officials cite domestic violence rules as they withhold more details
Investigators did not say whether Solomon is believed to have the officer’s service weapon. Saucier said that information was not yet known and that police were serving a search warrant at the home.
Early said Massachusetts rules limiting information in domestic violence cases prevent officials from sharing more about the relationship between the people involved or the circumstances of the death.
Blue H.E.L.P. co-founder built career around officer mental health
Karen Solomon is known as a co-founder of Blue H.E.L.P., an organization that works to reduce the stigma around mental health in law enforcement and support families of officers who died by suicide.
She also founded First H.E.L.P. and wrote books including Hearts Beneath the Badge and The Price They Pay. Police1 said Solomon had previously contributed to the outlet.
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