An NYPD inspector overseeing the department's highway unit has committed suicide, the department announced.
The NYPD said in a statement that Inspector Michael Ameri was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound a short distance from his home in West Babylon Friday afternoon.
It's not clear why he killed himself.
Ameri had been questioned at his home by federal investigators and NYPD Internal Affairs officers about police escorts given to influential businessmen and whether any NYPD officers took gifts in return, law enforcement sources told NBC 4 New York.
Ameri's death comes more than a month after NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton announced that two high-ranking officers had been placed on modified duty and two others were transfered in the federal investigation into potential conflict of interest rules and federal criminal laws. Other officers have since been suspended in connection to the probe.
Ameri was divorced and the father of a teenage son, according to officials.
"We are heartbroken at the loss of Michael Ameri and ask that you keep his family in your prayers during this traumatic time," the NYPD Captains Endowment Association said. "Inspector Ameri is known as a dedicated police officer who excelled in all of his command assignments."
