Mickey Jay Bowen
Agency patch
Corrections Officer

Mickey Jay Bowen

DeKalb County Sheriff's Office — Fort Payne, AL
Illness
End of Watch October 27, 2020
Age 49
Tour of Duty 21 yrs
The Vigil Panel 173 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Correctional Officer Mickey Bowen died from complications as a result of contracting COVID-19 while assigned to the Detention Center at 2801 Jordan Road SW at Fort Payne.

Correctional Officer Bowen had served with the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office for 21 years.

COVID-19 and Law Enforcement

Corrections Officer Mickey Jay Bowen died on October 27, 2020 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 49.

He is one of 884 officers honored here, and one of 3 at DeKalb County Sheriff's Office.

Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.

Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-AL-C3C26199
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Corrections Officer Bowen gave the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office 21 years.
Thank you for your service to the Fort Payne community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Corrections Officer Bowen.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Fort Payne, AL
Platform Identity dcso.dekalb.al.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 27, 2020
Tour of Duty 21 yrs
Age 49
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness

Corrections Officer Mickey Jay Bowen is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In AL, 23 of 643 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 3.6% of this state's fallen. That is 5.5 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.

At DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, 3 of 5 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 60% of this agency's fallen.

DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
3
of 5 officers
60% Illness
AL — Statewide
23
of 643 officers
3.6% Illness
Nationwide
2,974
of 32,508 officers
9.1% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Mickey Jay Bowen's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Mickey Jay Bowen Compares

Age at End of Watch
49
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.8 years
Years of Service
21
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.9 years

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Mickey Jay Bowen is highlighted in Oct.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
185
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
181
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
291
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285

Incident Location