Posted on Tue, Jan. 11, 2005 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Eleven days after taking elective office, Cole County Sheriff George R. Brooks was found dead in his home Tuesday by an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the sheriff's office said.
Cole County Commissioner Bob Jones said Brooks' body was found shortly before 3 p.m. His wife found him, growing concerned after Brooks, 53, missed two appointments earlier in the day, television station KRCG reported.
In November, Brooks was elected to a four-year term as sheriff after being appointed interim sheriff earlier in the year to succeed Sheriff John Hemeyer, who retired. During his 18-year career in law enforcement, Brooks served as a trooper with the Missouri State Highway Patrol and worked for the Department of Corrections.
Cole County chief deputy sheriff Gary Woodward asked the Missouri State Highway Patrol to investigate Brooks' death, the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Cole County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Tackett was automatically appointed acting sheriff, until the Cole County Commission meets to name an acting sheriff and set a special election, Jones said. He did not say when an acting sheriff would be named, but he said the commission planned to meet Wednesday.
Earlier, the sheriff's office had identified Woodward as the interim sheriff, but by law, the prosecutor immediately takes over those duties until the commission can act.
Highway Patrol Capt. Chris Ricks said the patrol was proceeding with a death investigation.
"There's nothing to indicate this was not suicide, but we've got to make sure," he said.
Ricks said it was tough for those in the county and law enforcement who knew Brooks.
"It's the slug in the stomach you don't want," he said.
Tackett said Brooks will be remembered for his dedication to law enforcement.
"He was very one-on-one with people, very personal," Tackett told KRCG. "I think that's what really distinguished him. He had a way of dealing with issues that were emotional, that were conflict-ridden, in a very methodical, slow, thought out fashion. And that's what he brought to law enforcement was personality, his demeanor."
Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon expressed shock as word of Brooks' death reached him.
"I'm thunderstruck and saddened for the thousands of people in central Missouri who were lucky enough to know and serve with Sheriff Brooks," Nixon told The Associated Press.
