Stephen Sims: Alabama cop kills himself while attending sex trafficking training in different county

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FULTONDALE, ALABAMA: An Alabama sheriff's deputy killed himself by suicide in the middle of a police training session on sex trafficking, according to local authorities.

A deputy from a different county "committed suicide in the parking lot" of the event center on Thursday, February 15, according to the Fultondale Police Department.

Stephen Sims found dead in rear of his car

The deputy was identified by the Elmore County Sheriff's Office as Stephen Sims, a father of four.

When Sims, 43, and his three coworkers returned from their lunch break, they all got out of the car except for Sims, and that's when they heard the gunshot.

After that, Sims was discovered shot dead in the rear of his car, and a coroner subsequently concluded that the wound was self-inflicted.

Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin expressed his shock at Sims' death to the local media outlet WVTM. Franklin said that Sims was a "great guy" who had worked for the county for a number of years.

'Incident was entirely unrelated to the class training'

According to WSFA, Prattville Police Chief Mark Thompson described Sims as a son. “He was one of the people that took care of his friends. Give you the shirt off his back,” Thompson uttered.

“He would kid around and call me Dad sometimes. But yeah, it was just a close relationship with the whole Thompson family.”

Covenant Rescue Group, the organization that organized the training session, released a statement confirming Sims' death and extending their condolences to his family.

The statement read, “It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of a tragic incident that occurred during an anti-sex trafficking training hosted for law enforcement officers this week."

"Unfortunately, one of the attending officers was found deceased in the parking lot of the event center where the training was hosted,” the statement further stated, noting that “this incident was entirely unrelated to the class training.”