Mourning colleagues remember Hanover cop as dedicated lawman

Detectives attached to the Area One Police Division have launched a probe into the death of a traffic policeman who is believed to have committed suicide by shooting himself at his home in Westgate Hills, St James, on Sunday morning.

The deceased, Constable Ernesto Tracy, was atttached to the Traffic Department in Lucea, Hanover, up to the time of his death.

Reports reaching The Gleaner are that shortly after 11 a.m., a gunshot was heard coming from Tracy’s apartment in Westgate Hills, and when checks were made, he was found lying in a pool of blood inside his home. He had a gunshot wound to the head, and his firearm was lying beside him.

The police were summoned and Tracy was rushed to the Cornwall Regional Hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition.

He, however, succumbed to his injury on Sunday afternoon.

“Tracy was a very secretive person. Him never did like to talk about himself, and as a matter of fact, we as police knew very little about his personal life,” one traffic cop in Hanover told The Gleaner.

“He was a very dedicated and hard-working officer and has always been on the ball since he was transferred from St James to Hanover close to two years ago.”

The traffic cop said that Tracy spent most of his years with the Freeport Traffic Department in St James but was transferred to Hanover in early 2022, where he had been working until his death.

Another policeman in Hanover said he saw Tracy last Monday at the Lucea Parish Court, where he had a traffic matter with two Rastafarian brothers.

“Tracy is my very good friend. As a matter of fact, I speak to him quite a lot, but he never gave me any form of indication that he was going through stress or anything like that,” the senior police officer said.

“I spoke to him last Monday after he came to court in Lucea, and as a matter of fact, he was in a cheerful mood, so I don’t see what could have driven him to take his own life.”

The officer further stated that Tracy never struck him as the kind of person who would commit suicide.

If you or your loved one requires mental health support, call the Mental Health Suicide Prevention Helpline: 888-NEW-LIFE (639-5433) or go to the Ministry of Health and Wellness webpage to schedule a free counselling session.