Boone County was shocked by the March 2 death of Deputy Jacob Pickett, who was shot while pursuing a suspect.
Although shaken, the community has stepped up to support the Pickett family, Boone County Sheriff’s Office and others in law enforcement as they deal with the tragedy.
In Lebanon, many community members attended a March 3 vigil to remember Pickett, 34, who lived in Zionsville. On March 8 Zionsville residents organized a luminary walk in Pickett’s memory March 8 at Heritage Trail Park. Many other acts of support occurred throughout the week.
The efforts will continue March 9, the day of Pickett’s funeral. Officers from several nearby agencies, including the Indiana State Police and Marion County Sheriff’s Dept., will patrol the county while officers from BCSO and other law enforcement agencies attend the service. The towns of Zionsville and Whitestown will be closed March 9 so their employees may attend as well.
Traffic in Boone, Hamilton and Marion counties is expected to be impacted beginning at approximately 3 p.m. March 9 during the funeral procession from Connection Point Church in Brownsburg to Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. In Whitestown and Zionsville, the procession will travel along I-65 southbound to exit 138, head south on Indianapolis Road, east on Whitestown Parkway (which becomes Oak Street), south on First Street and head east on Sycamore Street to take US 421 south to Indianapolis.
A memorial fund for Pickett’s family has been set up by the Fifty Club of Boone County, a nonprofit that provides benefits after a death in the line of duty. Donations may be made at the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, at a local Key Bank branch or at www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8G5Q24C9LLVRA.
Boone County Sheriff Mike Nielsen arrested Anthony Louis Baumgardt, 21, of Lebanon March 3. Baumgardt is charged with murder, resisting law enforcement, possession of marijuana, two counts of possession of methamphetamine and carrying a handgun without a license.
