A Delaware police officer is fighting for his life after he was viciously beaten this week and became one of the latest victims in a …
A Delaware police officer is fighting for his life after he was viciously beaten this week and became one of the latest victims in a growing wave of violent attacks on police in America. Delmar Police Department Cpl. Keith Heacock as of Wednesday morning remained unconscious and on a ventilator at R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, according to a department spokesman. A shunt has been placed in his head to relieve pressure after he was beaten with a blunt object. Amid rising anti-police rhetoric following allegations of police brutality, law enforcement officials are under siege with violent attacks on officers, patrol vehicles and even police dogs. The number of officer deaths this year is set to surpass last year, which was the deadliest in decades for law enforcement. While no one tracks assaults across the country, preliminary data from local departments show attacks on officers are also on the rise. It is clear officers are being targeted like never before, law enforcement experts say. “Policing has always been a dangerous job, but with the anti-police sentiment out there, it has created an uptick in attacks on police officers,” said Mike McGrew, a 35-year veteran of the police department who co-founded a charity for officers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. On Monday, a man struck an NYPD detective over the head with a plastic stick in broad daylight, an attack that occurred while the officer was processing a crime scene. The officer was treated for minor injuries. Akeele Morgan,25, is charged with attacking the officer. A motive has not been provided. An Iowa man Tuesday was arrested after he allegedly attacked and spit on officers as they tried to arrest him on suspicion of drunken driving. Christopher Greenwood,33, faces a slew of charges, including two related to the alleged assaults. Cpl. Heacock’s story, however, is the most harrowing. Responding to a Sunday morning report of an assault on an elderly couple in Delmar, Cpl. Heacock “suffered significant head injuries,” according to a statement from the Delaware State Police. A spokesperson for the Delmar police declined to provide more information because the investigation is continuing. Randon Wilkerson is charged with attacking Cpl. Heacock and also assaulting a 73-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman. Police say he knocked on the back door of the elderly couple’s home, entered the house and then repeatedly hit them with a glass object. The woman was taken to the Baltimore shock trauma center police said. Multiple factors are fueling the surge in attacks on police, analysts say.
