BOONE COUNTY, Ind. — Boone County Sheriff Michael Nielsen is remembering fallen Deputy Jacob Pickett. Pickett died in March 2018 when a suspect shot him during a police pursuit.
In a letter to staff, Sheriff Nielsen wrote in part:
"Until you go through something that is as hard as this has been you cannot really understand it or grasp its wrath that it bestows upon you. I hope and pray that we will never have to face another tragedy like this again. It clearly has changed my life in both good and bad ways. I have seen it change this office in ways that I could have never thought it would have changed. I have seen it change people both inside this office and outside this office. But through it all, I continue to see the beauty of hope that has risen from the ashes. I still remain steadfast of focusing on the mission of good. I have seen people struggle through the last three years but make it through the tough times and for that I am so grateful."
The sheriff's office is asking people to turn on a blue light on their porch in remembrance. Also, to keep something blue on you or in your pocket to remember Deputy Pickett and his sacrifice. The hope is for people to do that March 2-5 at midnight.
"This week we will celebrate Jake's life and not mourn his death. Tomorrow is the beginning of another year that continues this very hard journey, a journey that many of us will be on for the rest of our lives," Sheriff Nielsen said in the letter.
The Deputy Jacob Pickett 3rd Annual Remembrance Day supporting the Jacob Pickett Response Organization will be held in June, not March. The change in date is because of the pandemic and the Boone County fairgrounds being used for a vaccine clinic.
Instead of marking Deputy Pickett's end of watch, the remembrance will honor his badge number 626 and be held on June 26.
Pickett was killed when Lebanon police officers tried to serve an arrest warrant on a woman on Yates Street. Officers on the warrant detail recognized another wanted person, John D. Baldwin, Jr.
Police said Baldwin was ordered to stop, but he and two other people got into a car and fled. A short pursuit ensued and officers were joined by assisting deputies from the Boone County Sheriff's Department.
The car, driven by Baldwin, Jr., stopped on Indian Springs Road, and all three occupants ran. Police say it was during the foot pursuit that Deputy Pickett was shot.
Anthony Baumgardt — who pulled the trigger — and John Austin Ball — who provided Baumgardt with the gun — pleaded guilty in 2019. Baumgardt was sentenced to life in prison without parole, in exchange for the state dropping the death penalty. Ball was sentenced to 48 years.
John Baldwin Jr. was sentenced in January for dealing in methamphetamine and resisting law enforcement. He was sentenced 40 years as part of a plea deal.
