On April 25, Delmar Police Officer Keith Heacook was brutally beaten after being dispatched to a home across the street from a residence where police said two elderly individuals had been assaulted.
Upon his arrival, he, too, became a victim of the alleged assailant. Other police units were dispatched and found Officer Heacook severely injured. The suspect was apprehended, and Officer Heacook was transferred to the hospital, where he passed away three days later.
I was unable to attend his May 10 funeral in Salisbury, Maryland, but as a retired law enforcement officer, I watched his service on my computer. In addition to his family, friends and supporters, more than a thousand police officers from multiple states filed by his casket.
Kudos to the Delaware and Maryland state police and the other agencies who organized this impressive service. My thanks to Gov. John Carney and Gov. Larry Hogan for their sincere comments to the family and public.
But a very obvious absence was that of President Joseph Biden or any representative of the White House, nor did I see Sen. Tom Carper or Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, both D-Del. I was told Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., was present but made no comments.
It was both shameful and disrespectful that President Biden, according to the Los Angeles Times, visited the family and funeral of George Floyd in Minneapolis and planned to visit the family again on the anniversary of his death but ignored the family of a fallen officer only miles from one of his homes in Rehoboth Beach.
Similarly retired police officer Thomas Brackin noted in a letter to the State News that Biden’s Police Week message blamed law enforcement for the distrust and fear felt by Black and Brown communities toward police (“Biden Police Week statement is disheartening,” May 23). The president’s divisive message missed the point that many police officers are themselves respected members of Black and Brown communities.
Mr. President, it’s time you realize that police officers, many of whom are also veterans, are brothers and sisters working as a team, no matter the ethnic backgrounds or the color of their skin. As someone who served 34 years in law enforcement and two tours in Vietnam, unlike you, I know of what I speak.
My prayers and condolences to the Heacook family.
Paul Davis
Dover
