Howard Co. Sheriff’s Office planning golf outing to honor Deputy Carl Koontz

HOWARD COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — The Howard County Sheriff’s Office is hoping to raise money for a scholarship fund to honor the memory of Deputy Carl Koontz.

Koontz was shot and killed in the line of duty in March.

The organizer behind the event had a very special connection with Deputy Koontz. Not only did they work together, but he was also her nephew.

Diane Howard said a golf outing is being planned next month to honor his memory and to give back to the community at the same time.

“It’s just truly amazing the amount of outpouring and love that people have shown the family,” said Howard.

Howard is part of that family and the family in blue.

“The sheriff’s office has come together and we’ve decided to do a scholarship fund to give back to the community, so this is our first outing in his honor to do that,” Howard said.

The outing will be held at Wildcat Creek golf course in Kokomo. Howard said they’re hoping to raise around $10,000 for the scholarship fund.

“We’re here for Carl. I know it’s going to be kind of sad and emotional at times for people, but in the end Carl would want us to have a good time,” Howard said.

88 players have registered so far. And one of those players is Howard County Deputy Michael Hamilton.

Hamilton said he was working on paperwork with Deputy Koontz before the shooting.

“Me and Carl like to work on a lot of projects together and this was just one of those projects that he had going,” said Deputy Hamilton. “We were working on that and we decided that night that we had enough to get a search warrant so I decided to stay after with him.”

Hamilton said he thinks about his friend every single day and knows honoring his memory with a scholarship fund is the right thing to do.

“He was all about education, any and every kind of education. The more knowledge that somebody held, the better off they would be. That’s just what he believed in,” Hamilton said.

The golf outing will take place on August 12 with tee times starting at 1:30 p.m. Howard said they are still looking for sponsorship and players to register.

Click here if you would like to take part in the event.