Deputy Sheriff
Carl Allen Koontz
Howard County Sheriff's Department
Sunday, March 20, 2016

Age: 26
Served: 4 years, 2 months
Badge #: 34-76
Panel 40W, Line 30 (2017)
Panel L4, Line 13 (2016)

Incident Details

Cause of Death:
Gunfire
Date/Time of Incident:
Sunday, March 20, 2016
12:30 am
Incident to Death Duration:
Same day
Incident Location:
380 West Chandler Street, Russiaville
Incident County:
Howard
Incident Township:
Honey Creek
Weapon Used:
Rifle
Suspect Disposition:
Died by suicide
Burial Place:
Albright Cemetery, Kokomo

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   Deputy Sheriff Carl Koontz was shot and killed while he and other deputies were serving warrants for drug-related offenses on a subject at a trailer park in Russiaville.

   Deputies received no response from inside a mobile home when they knocked on the door and announced their presence. Upon entering the home, the deputies were confronted by gunfire and Deputy Koontz and another deputy were wounded.

   Other officers were able to remove both deputies who were transported to Community Howard Regional Health in Kokomo. They were both airlifted to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis where Deputy Koontz later died after undergoing surgery.

   A 25-year-old male subject was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head several hours later after a SWAT team made entry into the home.

   Deputy Sheriff Koontz, from Kokomo, had previously served as a corrections officer with the department for 1½ years. He was survived by his wife, Kassandra; 8-month-old son, Noah; sister, Alice; parents, Allen and Jackie; and grandparents, Allen and Ann Koontz and Carl and Alice Durham.

Memorial Tributes

• In 2016, the Deputy Carl A. Koontz Memorial Bridge, formerly the Markland Avenue Bridge near Park Avenue in Kokomo, was dedicated in his honor.
• In 2017, a local historical marker was erected at Main and Union streets in Russiaville.

Historical Notes

• Deputy Sheriff Koontz was the only Indiana line of duty death in 2016.
• He is the first line of duty death of the Howard County Sheriff's Department.
• His line of duty death is the third that has originated from Howard County.

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Howard County Sheriff's Department

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Deputy Sheriff Carl Allen Koontz - Howard County Sheriff's Department - INLEM.org