By Ben Fractenberg and Adam Nichols
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — An on-duty NYPD officer shot and killed himself on a Murray Hill street after a fight with his girlfriend over her Facebook page, according to reports.
Officer Philip Chlanda, who was wearing his uniform and on a meal break from TriBeCa's 1st Precinct, had reportedly gotten into a fight with his girlfriend after reading her Facebook page to learn if she was seeing anyone else, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told the Daily News.
Chlanda feared that the girlfriend was about to break up with him, so he grabbed his .9mm from the West 36th Street apartment where he lived with her and his parents, returned to the sidewalk, put the gun to his head, and pulled the trigger, according to reports.
"I love you," Chlanda reportedly told the woman, who tried to run to him to stop the suicide but didn't make it on time, according to reports.
He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital with head injuries, where he died, officials said.
Browne told the News that Chlanda had an "unblemished record" in his four years on the force.
Neighbor Dr. Rosemary Clemens called Chlanda a "gentle sort of fellow, very courteous."
"It's particularly terrible when it's somebody in the line of duty protecting others. He must have been a very troubled soul," she added. "It's a horrible thing."
