A police officer who had been arrested in a drug case and released from jail early Thursday fatally shot himself shortly afterward, authorities said.

Richard F. Nelson, 50, was released without bail from the jail in Seattle shortly before 5 a.m.

He was found about five hours later with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound on John Wayne Trail, a popular hiking and biking route east of Seattle. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center.

He died several hours later, police Chief John Diaz said.

The incident was the latest setback for the department that is currently implementing reforms outlined in a December Department of Justice report critical of the use of force by Seattle police.

Inadequate supervision and training had led officers to grab weapons such as batons and flashlights too quickly and to escalate confrontations even when arresting people for minor offenses, federal officials said.

The Department of Justice launched an investigation last spring following the fatal shooting of a homeless Native American woodcarver and other reported uses of force against minority suspects.

The probe was aimed at determining whether Seattle police have a pattern or practice of violating civil rights or discriminatory policing, and if so, what they should do to improve.