[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 63 (Monday, April 17, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E314]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





               HONORING THE LIFE OF EDGAR T. PICKETT, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. C. SCOTT FRANKLIN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 17, 2023

  Mr. C. SCOTT FRANKLIN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor 
the life of Edgar T. Pickett, Jr. a servant and guardian of our 
Lakeland community who passed away peacefully with family by his side 
on April 6th. Edgar served our community for nearly 30 years as an 
officer with the Lakeland Police Department. He was a trailblazer in 
many ways, both as one of the Department's first black officers and as 
a pioneer in the field of forensics.
  Edgar began his law enforcement career in 1954 at a time when 
segregation was still in effect in America. He persevered through many 
challenges, including when he was shot in the line of duty responding 
to a call in 1964. After surviving his ordeal, Edgar went on to become 
one of Polk County's first black detectives. In this new role, Edgar 
distinguished himself as a remarkable investigator. He taught himself 
fingerprinting, photography, evidence collection and how to identify 
bullets from evidence left at crime scenes. He converted his home 
kitchen into a dark room to develop his film and learned to develop 
photos professionally with the help of Duane Perkins' photography shop.
  Edgar's remarkable skill set earned him a certification in forensic 
science and he became a fingerprint technician in 1973. He studied at 
the American Institute of Applied Sciences in Chicago and became a 
plainclothes detective specializing in fingerprinting. Edgar would go 
on to develop Lakeland Police Department's first fingerprint filing 
system and worked with the FBI in 1980 to identify a local suspect 
threatening to assassinate President Jimmy Carter.
  After nearly 30 years, Edgar retired in 1983 and continued consulting 
for various law enforcement agencies across Florida. In 2019, he 
returned to Lakeland Police Department to close a 38-year old cold case 
murder investigation he once worked on as a detective. The Lakeland 
Police Department named its fingerprinting lab after Edgar in honor of 
his diligent and nationally-recognized work.
  He will be deeply missed by his family, his fellow officers and our 
community. On behalf of the 18th Congressional District of Florida, I 
thank Edgar T. Pickett, Jr. for his service and sacrifice. We will be 
forever grateful.

                          ____________________