Delaware police officer declared clinically dead after being attacked while on duty

DELMAR, Delaware (WPVI) -- A Delaware police officer who was attacked inside a home while responding to a "fight in progress" call over the weekend has been declared clinically dead, according to Delmar Police Chief Ivan Barkley.

On Sunday around 5:12 a.m., state police say Corporal Heacook with the Delmar Police Department was responding to a home on the 11000 block of Buckingham Drive for a fight in progress allegedly involving 30-year-old Randon D. Wilkerson.

A 911 caller reported that Wilkerson was being disorderly, fighting with other residents of the house, and destroying items inside the residence, according to police.

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. He was rushed to an area hospital and later transported to Shock Trauma in Baltimore, Maryland where he was recently put on life support for organ donation purposes.

"These are the worst moments any of us can imagine: mourning the loss of a member of our law enforcement family," Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings said in a statement Wednesday night. "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...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."

Police say Wilkerson also assaulted an elderly couple who live across the street. The elderly couple sustained significant injuries, police said. Both were transported to area hospitals.

Jennings says charges against Wilkerson have been upgraded to murder.

Read the full statement released by Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings:

"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."