Who was Keith Heacook? Delaware cop declared 'clinically dead' days after suffering severe head injury on duty
DELMAR, DELAWARE: Corporal Keith Heacook, an officer with the Delmar Police Department was declared 'clinically dead' at a Baltimore hospital, according to Chief Ivan Barkley, who made the announcement on Wednesday, April 28. Heacook was one of the three victims involved in a brutal attack in Delmar on Sunday, April 25. Barkley said Heacook's organs will be donated. "I need you to know that even with his sacrifice, he’s still a hero for someone," Barkley said.
Police say he was severely battered by 30-year-old Randon Wilkerson while responding to a domestic incident around 5:12 am on the 11000 block of Buckingham Drive in the Yorkshire Estates community. According to court documents, a woman who lived in the home told police she witnessed Wilkerson standing over Heacook while slamming his foot on his head inside the living room of the home. Additional officers responded to the home after Heacook became unresponsive over police radio. Heacook was found unconscious, suffering from blunt force trauma to the head. Heacook was taken to Shock Trauma in Baltimore with significant head injuries, according to authorities who also said he is still on life support.
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Who was Keith Heacook?
Keith Heacook, a 22-year veteran from Seaford, Delaware had been with Delmar Police Department since 1998. He is survived by his wife Susan and 12-year-old son Matthew. Heacook was inspired to pursue a career in law enforcement when he was in a car wreck nearly 30 years ago. Police pulled him out of a ditch and flew him to Christiana Hospital, where doctors gave him a 50/50 chance of surviving at the time. He had also been placed on a ventilator following that incident. "He wanted to become a police officer because he wanted to do the same, to help people," Kathy Heacook told Delmarva Now.
Susan raised questions against the police department asking why her husband was sent alone to respond to this incident. "To the Delmar Police Department, I ask why? Why was my husband the only officer on duty? Why was he the only officer sent to respond to that call? What protocols are in place for responding to an incident? During a time in our country where police officers are targeted and disliked, wouldn't it be logical to dispatch more than one officer," she wrote in a Facebook post.
"My husband was beaten unconscious without any other law enforcement there to back him up. How long did he lay on the floor before help arrived?There needs to always be more than one officer responding to calls of this nature," she continued.
"Had that been done, perhaps my husband would be sitting next to me instead of lying unconscious in a hospital bed. Is this what it takes for the police department to wake up?" her post further read.
Delmar Mayor Michael Houlihan said the police department has limited resources and is struggling to recruit new officers. One of the officers from the department recently retired and from four new applications they received, only two were fit candidates.
“There will be a time when we can have this discussion, where we can all sit down at the table with the mayors and department heads,” said Mayor Houlihan pointing out that these issues of keeping a full staff will be addressed in the near future. He also highlighted that Delmar was not the only jurisdiction struggling with getting enough officers on duty.
“I understand why people would say ‘Why would I want to go into law enforcement with this kind of climate right now?'” Houlihan said. He also added that supporting the victims of the attack was of utmost importance and the need of the hour. "I’m grieving too. This has been a stressful few days for our town. We have a great community in Delmar. We always go with ‘Delmar Strong’ and that is truly who we are. Unfortunately, we had something that was terrible that happened to us."