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SFPD sergeant who died by suicide was being investigated by department

By and KTVU staff
Updated  June 16, 2022 7:21pm PDT
San Francisco Police Department
KTVU FOX 2

San Francisco police sergeant dies by suicide while under investigation

A San Francisco police sergeant fatally shot himself while officers arrived at home as part of an investigation, KTVU has learned. It's unclear why Internal Affairs was looking into the sergeant.

SAN FRANCISCO - A San Francisco police sergeant died by suicide Wednesday inside his Excelsior district home. KTVU has learned the sergeant was under investigation by the department. 

The city medical examiner identified the sergeant as 40-year-old Christopher Morris, who worked at Park Station. 

Officers found Morris inside his home on the 500 block of Moscow Street suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

A police spokeswoman told KTVU that officers were already at the address around 1:20 p.m. Wednesday "conducting an investigation" when they learned "the occupant of the residence was inside and possibly suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound."

Sources told KTVU that Morris had been out on leave recently and was dealing with issues in his personal life. 

Investigators with the department's Internal Affairs division were serving a warrant at the home when Morris killed himself, the sources said. 

Officials did not elaborate on the circumstance of the investigation.

San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safai represents the district where Morris died. He said first responders like police are not getting the mental health resources they need. 

"These are jobs that deal with live and death and they're tremendously, tremendously stressful," he told KTVU in an interview Thursday. "We need to find ways to support them."

SFPD on social media said Morris was a 16-year-veteran on the force.

A tweet said Chief of Police William Scott and the department Command Staff expressed their condolences to the family. Counseling has been offered to the officer's colleagues and family, the department said. 

A spokesman for the San Francisco Police Officer's Association did not comment on the case and said they are letting Morris' family and colleagues mourn. 

Evan Sernoffsky is an investigative reporter for KTVU. Email Evan at Evan.Sernoffsky@foxtv.com and follow him on Twitter @evansernoffsky.