Indiana Law Enforcement Memorial
Indiana Law Enforcement Memorial Dedicated to Honoring All of Our State's Fallen Officers

Sergeant
Thomas Edward Sawyer
Hammond Police Department
Thursday, June 17, 2021
Age: 53
Served: 23 years, 5 months
Badge #: 448
Panel 35W, Line 33 (2022)
Panel L29, Line 14 (2021)
Hammond Police Department

Incident Details

Cause of Death
Duty-related illness
Date/Time of Incident
Thursday, May 6, 2021
Incident to Death Duration
43 days
Incident Location
509 Douglas Street, Hammond
Incident County
Lake
Incident Township
North
Weapon Used
None
Suspect Disposition
None
Burial Place
Memory Lane Memorial Park, Schererville
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   Sergeant Thomas Sawyer died from complications after contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during an ongoing global pandemic.

   After becoming infected while assigned to the city jail, he was hospitalized and placed on a ventilator a week later at Methodist Hospital Southlake Campus in Merrillville where he remained until he passed away.

   Sergeant Sawyer was survived by his wife, Mary (née Alwood); son, John; and daughter, Hannah.

Military Service

  

United States Air Force
Persian Gulf War ▪ War in Afghanistan
Technical Sergeant (TSGT) ▪ 1986–2006

Historical Notes

• Sergeant Sawyer is the third of eight Indiana line of duty deaths in 2021.
• He is the eighth line of duty death of the Hammond Police Department.
• His line of duty death is the 58th that has originated from Lake County.
As of January 10, 2026, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused 1,237,779 deaths in the United States and 28,271 deaths in Indiana. From November 2020 through January 2021, the deadliest wave was responsible for 7,140 deaths with the highest occurring in December 2020 when 3,038 died statewide, at the same time two vaccines first became available to the general public. The pandemic has caused 885 known law enforcement officer deaths in the United States.

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Hammond Police Department
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