Officer's Death a Suicide: SDPD

Officer David Hall was expected in court later this week for a pretrial hearing in a pending criminal case

A San Diego police officer facing criminal charges in a traffic accident took his own life according to officials.

Officer David Christopher Hall was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Linda Vista home, police said.

His colleagues with the San Diego police department responded to the property at 3334 Ashford Street just before 10 a.m. Monday after Hall's wife called to report the shooting.

Officers arrived and found Hall's body in the backyard along the side of the home. The officer, wearing a white T-shirt and shorts, was found leaning against a wall.

Hall, a 14-year veteran with the department, had recently pleaded not guilty to felony driving under the influence and hit-and-run charges in connection with a Serra Mesa traffic accident that happened while he was off-duty on Feb. 22, 2011.

He was expected in court Thursday for a pretrial hearing.

In an afternoon briefing, Chief William Lansdowne said the department was very aware of the stress Hall had been under and took every effort to give the officer the help that he needed.

Lansdowne said a mental health professional working with the department's wellness program had just met with Hall on Sunday.

Hall had been on paid administrative duty pending the outcome of the case.

Over his career, Hall had worked for patrol at Central Division and worked on specialized narcotics and parolee apprehension teams before transferring to Traffic Division in 2008. In March 2010, he became a traffic motor officer.

Hall is survived by his wife and three children.

Just two weeks ago, the department learned of the death of another colleague. On Thursday, thousands gathered at the funeral for SDPD Detective Donna Williams and her daughter Bree Williams. The women were attacked and killed in their Rancho Penasquitos home on July 18.

Trouble Behind the Badge: Complete coverage of recent criminal cases involving San Diego police.

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