A sombre mood hung over the Westmoreland Police Division last weekend, following the suicide of Constable Neil Buchanan, an employee of the Bluefields police station in that parish Saturday.

Buchanan, 35, reportedly shot himself in the head inside the station, mere metres away from a room his colleagues were occupying. Official reports are that his co-workers found him lying in a pool of blood, with the weapon beside him, about 7:20 pm.

Buchanan's death took members of the police division by surprise. Many of them have had to seek counselling to deal with the incident, Superintendent Egbert Perkins, commander of the division, told the Observer.

Perkins, who said he knew Buchanan personally, described him as a "family member", noting that his death had deeply affected him.

"I mean, you spend more time out of your life with your colleagues so they are family. He was my family," said Perkins in a mournful tone. "I am emotionally distraught; nobody can prepare for something like this. Nobody knew that this was going to happen," he said.

Perkins said Buchanan was a valuable policeman who employed good work ethics on the job.

On Sunday, the grief was evident in a female police officer's voice as she hastily referred this reporter to the Constabulary Communications Network, opting not to comment.

It was not immediately clear how long Buchanan had been a member of the force or if he had any children.