Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Thank you Trooper for your dedication and service, you will not be forgotten. My deepest sympathies to your family, friends and co-workers. Rest easy brother, we have the watch now. God bless.

Officer S.W. Harrell
Richmond, VA Police Department

I am so sorry another officer falls in North Carolina.
I cannot express my feelings for you, all I can do is cry.
All I can say is, I am not married and have no kids,
Wish it could have been me instead.
So sorry.

Rest in peace,

Faron L Akins

Faron L Akins
Randolph County 911

My family was travelling across I-40 on Friday when things came to a stop. We could not see what was going on ahead, but knew the accident was bad. Soon, we heard from another motorist that someone had been killed. My five-year-old daughter asked me if the person had gone to Heaven, and I told her yes. She replied, "Good."

It wasn't until we arrived in Charlotte that I learned it was a Trooper...but I had a feeling. Even though traffic was tied up for hours after we had already driven 450 miles, my parents and I recalled how it felt when we got the call that my husband, Indiana State Trooper Richard Gaston, had been killed by a tractor-trailer driver. We quickly realized that our short delay was not comparable to the pain that a family was feeling at that moment.

Heidi, you have been on my mind a lot the past few days. We returned home Sunday on the same route, and I prayed for your family and Anthony as we passed the site. Life will be different, but it will go on -- because it has to. Cody needs to see more smiles than tears, and to experience more joy than pain. Sometimes I am amazed at the things my daughter says, considering she was just 10 months old when her father was killed. She was hoping to see Anthony's soul enter Heaven, and was disappointed to hear that soul's are invisible to us. But just thinking that way keeps her father alive in her heart.

God bless you, Cody, and all of the others who are mourning. Know that you are being prayed for across the country, and may that give you strength and peace.

Amy Gaston Stehr - Widow
Indiana State Trooper Richard Gaston EOW 3-4-99

Please accept the condolences of the Troopers and Sergeants of the Michigan State Police, who have faced the same trials and tribulations of our fallen brother, Tpr. Anthony G.Cogdill. May God bless him and all our faithful bretheren who have fallen in the line of duty. May they stand abreast of the Archangel Michael, who is the patron saint of all law enforcement officer and soldiers. May Tpr. Cogdill's family find solace in the fact that Anthony made the supreme sacrifice and stands with the other heroes of this great nation. God Bless America.

Sgt. John C. Sosa
Michigan State Police

My fiance, Dennis McElderry, was the first law enforcement casualty of 2003. It saddens me to know that Dennis was not the first to die in the line of duty, nor will he and Anthony be the be the last to die this way.

Having gone through the pain of losing Dennis I can truly understand and feel the pain that Trooper Cogdill's family, friends, and co-workers must be feeling. My heart goes out to you all. I wish I could give you a few words of wisdom to help you through this tough time, but there isn't anything I can really say or do to make the situation better. Just know that my thoughts are with you.

Please accept my condolences on behalf of the McElderry family and remember that Anthony is part of huge law enforcement family. If you ever need anything any number of them will be there for you (as I've quickly found out!) From reading the many reflections posted here, I am certain Anthony was well respected and well loved. Thank you for a job well done and for helping to make this world a safer place for us all. Please take care of my fiance Dennis.

Peace, Love, Luck, and Happiness!

Jocelyne Brar (Drakesville, IA)
Dennis McElderry's fiancee - E.O.W. (01/03/03)

TO THE FAMILY, FRIENDS AND FELLOW COLLEAGUES OF
TROOPER COGDILL,
I OFFER MY SINCERE CONDOLENCES TO YOU ALL AT THIS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT TIME. MAY YOU ALL FIND PEACE AND COMFORT KNOWING THAT HE IS NOW IN HEAVEN WATCHING OVER THOSE HE LOVED. MAY GOD BLESS TROOPER COGDILL, HIS LOVING WIFE, SON, PARENTS AND FRIENDS.

WIFE OF LAPD DETECTIVE
LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPT.

I would like to say on behalf of the Troopers of the Pennsylvania State Police, our prayers and thoughts are with you, your friends and loved ones. God Speed Brother

Trooper
Pennsylvania State Police

My sincere condolences to the family of Trooper Cogdill

Anonymous

Anthony,
You were a great person with a great big smile. You never had anything bad to say about anyone and always made us feel welcome to be a friend of yours. You will be missed by us all and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family, especially his son. May he grow up to know the kind of man his father was and how much he loved the people around him. It is sad to see things like this happen but you are now in a better place where no one can hurt you again. May you rest in peace and God speed. You may be gone but you will not be forgotten. We all will miss your smile and the person you were.

A friend
Waynesville, NC

Anonymous

Anthony, tell Billy hi and watch our backs, you guys will be great friends up there, you have a lot in common, too young too soon. To his family and friends, he is in Gods glorious presence, he knows the reason he was here on earth and awaits the day when you will all be reunited.

KY Peace Officer
Isaiah 40:31

Another fine officers' career ended way too soon. God bless Trooper Cogdill's family and co - workers and I pray that God will help ease the pain in this tragic time. Godspeed Trooper Cogdill.

Captain Scott Wright
Mount Holly Police Department, NC

You will forever remain in my heart and in my prayers. Rest easy Brother, rest easy.

CPD

LIKE A CANDLE IN THE WIND OUR LIFES ARE GONE TOO SOON,REST IN PEACE

LINDA HYATT,DISPATCHER
HAYWOOD CO SHERIFFS OFFICE

MAY YOU REST IN PEACE.

DEPUTY SHERIFF
WISCONSIN

My thoughts and prayers will continue to be with your family. Rest in Peace.

Trooper
ncshp

My family was deeply saddened to hear of another trooper's death, particularly in the manner of death. It's been almost a year since my brother was hit and killed on I-95 near Florence, SC. My heart is heavy knowing what Trooper Cogdill's wife and young son have ahead of them. I hope the support they receive from the law enforcement community will help them. We're praying for Trooper Cogdill's family and co-workers. God bless all law enforcement personnel!

Kris Rao Haimbach
Sister of SCHP Sr. Trooper Michael J. Rao EOW 6/12/02

To the family and friends of Trooper Cogdill:

I am so sorry to hear of this tragedy, especially for his son who won't have his father there as he grows up. Please take this time to come together, to support each other, and be there for each other through the years to always let his son know how special his father was. God bless and comfort you.

Anonymous
Mountain View, CO

Rest in peace brother in blue.
The watch is ours now.

God bless your family.

God be with you brother Trooper.

Trooper
Pennsylvania State Police

ANTHONY I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THE SMILE YOU ALWAYS HAD FOR EVERYONE. MAY YOU REST IN PEACE.GOD BE WITH THE COGDILL FAMILY AND HIS FELLOW TROOPERS IN THIS TRYING TIME.

DON COWARD
HAYWOOD CO. DETENTION CENTER

As the sun sets on the Western North Carolina mountains another has fallen with a family left to morn. Though this Trooper gave his life for a job I am sure he loved in a State in which he was proud, let us not forget the scrafices that his wife, child and family will continue to make as long as they live. As we Honor him, so we Honor his family for they are truely as much a hero and victim as our fallen brother. They are left to carry on.

Trooper: God's Speed and Rest in the peace of knowing that you and your family are forever members of the "Family of the Shield". They will never be alone & one day we will all be together again.

Captain Terry Sult
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

To Trooper Cogdill family and friends our hearts and prayers go out to you.

God Bless you

Terry Miyares, surviving spouse
Officer Emilio F. Miyares, Hialeah PD, FL, EOW 11/6/86

You are with God and Your Family Now and Forever...
Rest in Peace Brother.

State Trooper
New Jersey State Police

Anthony,
First thing I think of when I hear your name is the MDT messages you sent myself and G531 while he was out showing me the ropes. You were a great officer and will be missed by many. This is a painful reminder of just how dangerous our jobs are. We choose to do this job, not because we get rich from doing it, but from the feeling we get when we help someone. Whether it be a elderly female on the side of the road with a flat tire, or a husband who has been abusing this wife. You were the comic relief on those nights when I was with steve in the car. You will be missed.

RIP Brother.

Officer Jeremy Smith
Western Carolina University Police Department

As both a former NC Trooper and Buncombe County deputy sheriff, I am so very saddened to hear of this senseless death. It is hard to comprehend the loss of such a fine young officer, gentleman and family man as TPR Anthony Cogdill. He was highly respected in the state-wide, especially in the WNC law enforcement community. I met him some years back at a training course, when he was a Buncombe County deputy sheriff.

It is a sickening "deja vu". Another fine NC trooper, Master TPR Calvin Taylor also died at a nearby spot on I-40 in Haywood County, after he too was read-ended by a maniacal mooron, not so long ago. These truck drivers wantonly operate a 30,000 lbs. plus rig of steel down a narrow, crowded mountain highway, stoned and driving like lunatics; it is so terrible. Driving a commercial truck with defective brakes, in a reckless manner and while stoned, on a crowded interstate, is no different than firing a rifle randomly into a crowd!

I pray for Anthony's family, friends and colleagues, especially his wife, child and parents.

We have lost so many officers in WNC, it is so sad to lose one for such a preventable and unexplainable way. I offer my sincere condolences and prayers to the troopers of the NCSHP, especially Troop G and District 5. I know his former patrol buds and colleagues at the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office also are hurting.

Anthony died a hero's death, because it appears that his untimely death saved other drivers: he absorbed the blow of that monster truck, that surely would have killed who knows how many other citizens, who were helplessly and unknowingly in the pathway of death. That so perfectly epitomizes what Jesus said:

"Greater love hath no man than this: that he may lay down his life for his friends" John 15:13.

Anthony Cogdill was everyone's friend. This tragedy once again demonstrates that no part of law enforcement work is "routine". Vehicular collisions and traffic stops have claimed the lives of dozens of NC troopers since 1929.

Trooper Anthony Cogdill now patrols the highways of Heaven with St. Michael. The Old North State lost one of its finest this past week. God Bless and be safe out there.

Chief JA Millan
Former NC trooper & Buncombe Co. deputy

Chief JA Millan
NC Public Schools, Avery Dist. SP

We are truly saddened at Anthony's loss.
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We all recall you gave your best.
You did your job, now you can rest.
Your comrades now can cover your post
as you take your place with the Heavenly Host.

God Bless Our Fallen Brothers & Sisters.
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Our prayers will be with you, your family, and co-workers!

Ptlm. P.K. Harding
Binghamton (NY) PD