Few details known about deputy's training death; EPD officer injured

EVANSVILLE — Few details have emerged after a Vanderburgh County Sheriff's deputy died during what officials say was a training exercise Thursday, including how he died, and what was happening when he did.

Cause of death for Asson Hacker not determined

Asson (or Ason) Hacker, 33, died Thursday afternoon, but the sheriff's office hasn't disclosed where the training took place or what the specific exercises entailed.

On Friday afternoon, coroner Steve Lockyear said Hacker's autopsy had been completed, but he declined to release a cause of death, "pending the results of lab tests."

"These tests can take up to three weeks to complete," he said in an email to media organizations. Lockyear told the Courier & Press Hacker hadn't sustained any "obvious" injuries that would explain his death.

More:Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office reports death of deputy during training

According to a news release from sheriff Noah Robinson, Hacker was "participating in training when he fell ill and was rushed to Deaconess Midtown Hospital." The husband and father reportedly never regained consciousness.

Robinson said his office would release additional details "in the coming days." Robinson declined to answer questions Friday morning about where the training took place.

"We ask for patience during this difficult period for our office," Robinson said.

What was happening when Hacker died?

Hacker, who joined the sheriff's office in December, was reportedly completing his basic training when he fell ill, according to Robinson.

Area law enforcement often train with the Southwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, which provides training to police officers and deputies from multiple agencies, including new recruits. But it remains unclear if SWILEA conducted the training Thursday afternoon.

Evansville-Vanderburgh Central Dispatch said its records listed no medic runs or other dispatches near SWILEA's listed address at the C.K. Newsome Community Center. There also didn't appear to be any indication of Hacker's death over the police scanner Thursday afternoon.

Who was Asson Hacker?

Hacker had been working as a sheriff's deputy for four months. He was the father of four children and a 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.

Was anyone else injured?

The Evansville Police Department reported that one of its officers also was injured Thursday during "routine physical tactics" training, though not during the same session in which Hacker fell ill.

The EPD recruit was alert and in stable condition as of Friday evening, according to a news release from EPD.

The investigation is being handled by the Indiana State Police.

"The Evansville Police Department will be fully cooperating with the investigation so that the families involved, and the general public, are provided a transparent account of yesterday’s tragic event," the release states.

Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: What we know about the death of Vanderburgh County deputy