An assistant police inspector apparently jumped to his death from the 9th floor of a police station in Harajuku, Tokyo, police said Monday.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Fuji TV reported that the body of the 37-year-old officer, who was assigned to the Community Safety Bureau, was found collapsed on the grounds of the police station. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the cause of death as a suspected suicide from the fact that shoe prints belonging to the inspector were discovered on the 9th-floor window sill of the police station. No note was found on the 9th floor, police said.
The inspector was on duty at the time of the incident. Police said he had shown no signs of being depressed nor had his behavior been unusual.
© Japan Today
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gogogo
Power harassment
danalawton1@yahoo.com
It seems like every other month I read about an officer committing suicide. I don't know about you.... but I'd think that being a cop in Japan, while tedious, might not be so bad. I wonder why these guys are offing themselves? Has anyone in Japan written a book about what its like to be a cop in Japan?
DenTok2009
Thumbs up, Joeintokyo. I wondered about the shoe prints, too. One, the police are skimping on cleaners or the janitor has been goofing off. Two, most Japanese do take off their shoes and put it neatly aside before the death leap. Also, if this was truly a suicide, the guy must've been a good actor at masking his depression or frustration. OR, or he and his fellow officers didn't develop esprit de corps. Just another day at the office, keep your head down and don't really interact with anyone...
Wc626
Dang. Some Japanese are ticking time bomds. This guy was armed too. Thankfully, he didn't go on a shooting rampage. Another black-eye for the NPA.
Yubaru
Walking around the station and as an assistant inspector? Odds are he was not armed, not while in the station. The cops here have a very serious protocol about handling and distributing weapons and it is not uncommon at all to see cops in the station being unarmed.