Cpl. Keith Heacook
Officer: Delmar Police Department, Corporal Keith Heacook
Date: 4/28/2021 Location: Delmar, MD FACTORS (1,2,3,12,14,19)13?
Perpetrator(s) Involved: Randon D. Wilkerson
Criminal Activity History/Involved: Yes, Wilkerson had “a lengthy criminal history” with an active bench warrant for skipping bond on a December burglary charge./Yes, Wilkerson had just assaulted a man as well as an elderly couple, striking them with glass figurines, breaking both of the woman’s eye sockets.
Mental Illness: Unknown.
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown./Yes, when taken into custody, Wilkerson “confessed to ingesting large amounts of illegal narcotics and alcohol.”
Race/Sex/Age: Black/Male/30
What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At around 5:15 a.m. on April 25, 2021, Corporal Heacook responded to a 911 call of a fight in progress at a home where a man, Randon Wilkerson was “being disorderly, fighting with people and destroying items inside the home” (Hughes and Velazquez 6/15/21).
Actions taken by subject toward police: When Corporal Heacook arrived at the scene; Wilkerson assaulted him and knocked the officer down. A female witness reports seeing the unconscious officer lying face down on the living room floor as Wilkerson stood over him stomping on Heacook’s head with his foot.
Reactions by the police: When Corporal Heacook failed to respond to his radio, additional officers responded and found him unconscious. Heacook was rushed to the hospital but he “never regained consciousness, was declared clinically dead three days after the assault” and “was taken off life support.” Wilkerson was found on the property with bloodied and lacerated hands and was arrested.
How murdered? Corporal Heacook was beaten to death while handling a 911 call of a fight at a house.
What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? Given the violent nature of the call, if Corporal Heacook did not hear any sounds leading him to believe a life was in imminent danger, he could have waited for backup.
Would the officer have been justified to use deadly force before being murdered? Deadly force would have been justified as soon as the officer feared for his life, however at that point it may have been too late.
Outcome for the cop-killer: Wilkerson has been charged with: Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony, 1st degree Burglary, 3rd degree Assault and Terroristic threatening.
Miscellaneous: Given Wilkerson’s race and the current political climate, we’ll never know if it was for fear of being indicted that Corporal Heacook refrained from being more aggressive or using deadly force to fight off his attacker.
