US cop in Siem Reap dies: police

A police officer from the United States was found dead in a Siem Reap province hotel room on Wednesday after apparently suffering an abdominal aneurysm, an official told the Post yesterday.

James Forrester, 45, was discovered in his room by Apsara Interpol hotel staff at about 1pm, an hour after he was supposed to check out, said Chea Kimsan, director of the provincial immigration department.

“He died around 12[am], but the hotel staff did not find out until 1 pm,” Kimsan said yesterday. “The staff waited for him to check out and then came into his room, where they found him dead and called the police.”

An autopsy showed that a vein in Forrester’s stomach was “cut off,” Kimsan said. Before he died, Forrester had vomited blood.

A US Embassy spokesman confirmed the death and said in an email that the embassy is “providing all appropriate consular assistance”.

Forrester worked as an officer in the Jersey City Police Department in New Jersey, according to a report on news site NJ.com.