Delmar Cpl. Keith Heacook Declared Clinically Deceased
Delmar Police Corporal Keith Heacook was pronounced clinically deceased Wednesday at Shock Trauma in Baltimore, three days after he was viciously assaulted while responding to a reported fight.
Delmar Police Chief Ivan Barkley announced Wednesday night that Heacook was still on life support.
“I need you to know that even with his sacrifice, he’s still a hero to someone,” Barkley said, adding that arrangements were being made to have Heacook’s organs donated.
One suspect, Randon Wilkerson, has been arrested in connection with the assault. For previous stories, CLICK HERE
A man and woman who were beaten in their nearby home that same morning are now out of the hospital. Wilkerson has been charged in connection with that assault as well.
Attorney General Kathy Jennings delivered this statement:
“These are the worst moments any of us can imagine: mourning the loss of a member of our law enforcement family. Cpl. Keith Heacook served his Department and his community honorably and faithfully for more than two decades – a family man, a public servant, and a protector of his community until his final days.
The man who stole him from his family and from his community has been arrested, and mark my words: he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It is with nothing but sadness that I commit, now that Cpl. Heacook is no longer with us, that his killer’s charges will be upgraded to include murder. He will be held accountable for his heinous crimes against Cpl. Heacook, against the elderly couple he viciously assaulted, and against Delmar and our state. The DOJ has been working together with Delmar and Delaware State Police, and all are doing everything in our power to ensure a successful prosecution.
But tonight is about more than the senseless evil that stole Keith Heacook. Tonight we remember a father and a husband; a veteran of Delmar’s police force; and a brother in Delaware’s law enforcement family. Tonight we mourn the loss of a man who devoted his life to serving others. Tonight we acknowledge law enforcement across the state, who willingly face danger each day so the rest of us don’t have to.
Tonight we wrap our arms around a community and a family and hold them in support and prayer; tomorrow, with clear eyes, we move forward in the pursuit of justice.”
Governor John Carney posted on Facebook:
This is heartbreaking news. The Delmar community and the entire State of Delaware lost a public servant today. Tracey and I are praying for Cpl. Heacook, his family, and all of his fellow law enforcement officers.
