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Round Rock Police rules Hutchinson death a suicide

Round Rock Police said Friday that Sgt. Craig Hutchinson of the Travis County Sheriff’s Office cause of death was a suicide. The death had been under investigation since Sgt. Hutchinson’s body was discovered.

Round Rock Police said Friday that Sgt. Craig Hutchinson of the Travis County Sheriff’s Office cause of death was a suicide. The death had been under investigation since Sgt. Hutchinson’s body was discovered.

Sgt. Hutchinson’s body was found in the early morning hours of July 25; it came minutes after the Travis County Sheriff’s Department dispatch received a call from him reporting prowlers in his backyard and requesting the assistance of Round Rock Police. Around 13 minutes after the initial call from Sgt. Hutchinson, his body was discovered.

Round Rock Police said a single shell casing was found in close proximity to Hutchinson’s body and that there was no evidence of forced entry and nothing was stolen from the back yard of Hutchinson’s home where his body was found.

According to Round Rock PD, the only drug found in toxicology reports was ibuprofen. Investigators said Hutchinson had a history of depression and anxiety and was prescribed an anti-depressant in 2015, but the drug was not in his system at the time of death.

Police said all DNA and fingerprints at the scene were from Hutchinson and that he suffered a gunshot wound through the palm of the hand to the left side of his head.

Detectives discovered that Hutchinson’s home had been in foreclosure since 2011 and his vehicle had been repossessed twice. The discoveries came through the investigation which looked at 125 tips, made six unrelated arrests, canvassed 233 homes, and going through thousands of medical and forensic records.

Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton thanked the Round Rock Police for their work and apologized to the citizens of Williamson County for using so many resources on the investigation. Sheriff Hamilton said he wishes that he had known that Hutchinson was in the state of mind he was when he committed suicide.

“We are going to address that in Travis County,” Sheriff Hamilton said while tearing up during his comment. “I don’t know what we’re going to do, but we’re going to address that issues…I’m going to do everything possible to let them know that life is precious and we can get through this together.”

The KVUE Defenders found 51 officers nationwide took their own lives between June and December 2015. The rate of suicide in the general population was 11 per 100,000 while it was 18 per 100,000 for officers. The Department of Justice launched an officer safety initiative to try to address the problem called Valor for Blue.

The Defenders found that financially, the difference between the payout when an officer commits suicide versus when they are killed in the line of duty can be significant. If an officer dies in the line of duty, the federal government pays out $339,881, and give $1,021 dollars in educational assistance. Texas gives a lump sum of $500,000 to eligible surviving spouses, children, or parent.

The state of Texas may also pay $400 each month for a surviving minor child, $600 for two children; and $800 for three or more children. Texas also provides health and dental coverage to the family in the event of a death in the line of duty.

However, the Defenders found that all of that money will not be available with a death ruled a suicide.

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