GPD MOURNS LOSS OF OFFICER GLENN BARHYTE

Gotham Police Department officer Glenn Barhyte died early this morning at Gotham General Hospital, a GPD spokesman announced. Barhyte was wounded by three gunshots at an abandoned parking structure near the Docks late last night. "Glenn Barhyte was an exemplary officer that I began to rely on as soon as he transferred to Major Crimes," said MCU chief Jim Gordon. "We will all miss his warmth, his integrity, and his love of police work." It is unclear what Officer Barhyte was doing at the scene. Several sources told GCN that Barhyte had been leading an investigation into the drug trade which pinpointed a drug deal to have taken place at the scene last night. However, the investigation had been put on hold due to budget cuts. Some speculated that Barhyte may have been acting on his own to try to gain evidence for the stalled investigation. "Sometimes cops fall in love with cases, and they can't stop themselves," said one.

Others say that it is too soon to say why Officer Barhyte was there. Inside sources at GPDMCU told GCN that Barhyte may have been kidnapped and killed by the targets of his investigation after infiltrating GPD. "It's no secret that there are some mob plants and associates throughout GPD," said one high official in the Internal Affairs Department. "It's not impossible that the probe had been compromised and Barhyte killed to make a very public point."

Friends at GPD Major Crimes Unit, where Barhyte had transferred after years at Internal Affairs, were still in grief this morning. Brian Douglass, a file clerk at GPD, teared up as he recounted his feelings regarding Barhyte's death. "Glenn was like a brother to me. I can't help but feel that I could have stopped his death, somehow. I just – I just don't know how this could have happened," Douglass said.

Officer Kevin Slatteronsky, a colleague of Barhyte's at GPD Internal Affairs Department, told GCN that Barhyte told him he was trying to "stop a tragedy", not start one. "If you ever were in a firefight, you'd want Glenn next to you. He was loyal to a fault. Maybe this time, his loyalty won out over his own safety."

Barhyte leaves a wife, Cecilia, 33, who is expecting their first child.