Coroner releases cause of death for Vanderburgh sheriff's deputy who died during training

EVANSVILLE – The Vanderburgh County Sheriff's deputy who died hours after a police training exercise last month died of "exertional sickling" and sickle cell trait, the coroner's office ruled.

Asson Hacker, 33, died on March 2 after reportedly falling ill while undergoing basic training with Southwestern Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. He had just joined the force in December.

Coroner Steve Lockyear listed Hacker's causes of death as "natural" and having been brought on by exertional sickling and sickle cell trait. According to the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut, exertional sickling is a condition in which red blood cells change shape during exercise and build up in a person's blood vessels, causing decreased blood flow.

Exertional sickling can occur in people who carry the sickle cell trait.

Hacker was the father of four children and husband to Kourtney Hacker. According to his obituary, he was born in Queens, New York, in 1990. His family eventually moved to Indiana, where he attended Bedford North Lawrence High School. He was a basketball standout for the Stars and went on to play college ball for Olney Central College.

Before becoming a sheriff's deputy, he worked as a coal miner.

"He enjoyed playing sports with his children, spending time with family, weekend getaways with his wife, and he especially loved his boys," his obituary states.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Coroner releases cause of death for Vanderburgh County Sheriff deputy