-Caveat Lector- Breaking News...from http://www.phillynews.com ======================================== Wednesday, January 6, 1999 17:40 EST Cop shoots self Thomas Kalt joined Philadelphia police in December as the department's only openly gay officer. Inquirer Staff Report Less than a month after joining the police department as Philadelphia's only open gay officer, Thomas G. Kalt Jr. took his own life today by shooting himself once in the head near the historic First Bank of the United States at Third and Chestnut Streets. Police Commissioner John F. Timoney, in an early evening press conference, said he did not believe Kalt's action had anything to do with being a police officer and alluded to problems associated with depression that Kalt was dealing with. Timoney said Kalt, 26, who graduated from the Police Academy on Dec. 15, had told his superior on Monday that he wanted to resign and then filled out the appropriate paperwork on Tuesday. The commissioner said an official resignation is a process and that Kalt's action had not been considered not irrevocable. "It is a sad day for this organization," Timoney said. Kalt was found in the area off Independence Historic Park around 1:25 p.m. It is believed that he used his service pistol to take his life. It was unclear if anyone saw him kill himself or who found his body. In an interview with the Daily News the day after he graduated from the Police Academy, Kalt said he never felt the need to keep his homosexuality a secret. "It was not something I needed to do because I was never mistreated and never felt the need to do that," he said. In the interview, Kalt was upbeat about his experience at the academy, where he said he was treated wonderfully. He said he decided he wanted to be a police officer while working for the Center City District, where he got to know a lot of police officers as a member of the town watch. "It was from working there that I began the dream of wanting to be an officer," Kalt, a Tacony native, said. "I was inspired by them and they helped me with the exam and the application process. During my training, they were always there for support. Now I'm going to be one of them." Kalt, a 1990 graduate of the High School of Engineering and Science, said that during his four years with the Center City District and six months of training at the Police Academy, he felt part of a team. The news of Kalt's death stunned staff members at the Philadelphia Police Academy, who said they had seen no signs of unhappiness in Kalt, nor anything unusual in the way he was treated by other recruits. "There was absolutely no problem whatsoever when he was here," said Capt. Donna Sykes, who was in charge of recruit training during the six months that Kalt attended the academy. She has since been transferred to head the police department's Fairmount Park division. Sykes was one of the few staff members who knew that Kalt was gay. He told the captain because he wanted clearance to be interviewed by the Philadelphia Gay News. The clearance was granted. "I don't even know if the recruits themselves knew" about Kalt's sexual orientation, Sykes said. "We even got some positive feedback from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance on how things were conducted at the academy." Lt. Martin O'Donnell, who teaches physical conditioning at the academy, said he didn't realize Kalt was gay until Kalt gave the interview to the Daily News. "The instructors weren't aware of it," O'Donnell said. Neither were many recruits. Several recruits who drifted back to the academy after graduation told O'Donnell that Kalt had surprised them by declaring himself as gay, but "to them, it wasn't a big deal." "They thought he was a nice guy," O'Donnell said. "It was like, `Yeah? So what?'" Kalt was assigned to the 5th District, which covers the Manayunk/Roxborough area. At the time of Kalt's graduation, Timoney said that to his knowledge Kalt was the first officer who professed to being gay, but added it would be naive to think that Kalt is the only gay officer on the force. "I hear he's a great officer with a great career ahead of himself and he should do fine," Timoney said last month. ©1999 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. ================================= Robert F. Tatman [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Remove "nospam" from the address to reply. NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml POSTING THIS MESSAGE TO THE INTERNET DOES NOT IMPLY PERMISSION TO SEND UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL E-MAIL (SPAM) TO THIS OR ANY OTHER INTERNET ADDRESS. 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