According to police, on Monday, June 19, at approximately 3:10 p.m., Hamilton police responded to the scene of a motor vehicle collision in the area of 2700 Nottingham Way.
Upon arrival, first responders located a white male unconscious and unresponsive suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. The victim was identified as 44-year-old Hamilton Police Officer Thomas White. White’s truck collided with a white commercial van. The driver of the van was not injured. White was pronounced dead at the scene.
The scene was processed by the New Jersey State Police Crime Scene Unit and an investigation is being conducted by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Serious Collision Response Team and the Mercer County Homicide Task Force.
An autopsy conducted Tuesday morning by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that Officer White was the victim of an off-duty, self-inflicted gunshot wound. The death was ruled a suicide.
“Officer Tom White touched the lives of thousands of young people in Hamilton Township through his work with the LEAD program, as Officer Friendly, and as the director of Safety Town. He will be sorely missed, as an officer and a good friend,” Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said.
“Officer Thomas White was a fine officer that performed his job well and was extremely well-liked. He will be greatly missed. On behalf of the entire Hamilton Police Division, our thoughts and prayers are with Officer White’s family,” Hamilton Police Chief James W. Collins said.
Officer Thomas White was hired by the Hamilton Police Division and attended the Mercer County Police Academy, graduating in July 2009. He was assigned to the Patrol Bureau for seven years where he received numerous awards. In February 2016, Officer White was assigned to the Educational Services Unit as a LEAD officer (Law Enforcement Against Drugs), permanently assigned to Reynolds Middle School. His duties included teaching various grades in bicycle safety and the LEAD. program, as well as serving as Officer Friendly.
Officer White was also a member of the Hamilton PAL Board of Directors as the director of the Safety Town Program.
Anyone with information regarding the collision is asked to contact Mercer County Prosecutor’s Sergeant Gary Wasko at (609) 989-6317.