Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Lord, the air smells good today, straight from the mysteries within the inner courts of God. A grace like new clothes thrown across the garden, free medicine for everybody. The trees in their prayer, the birds in praise, the first violets kneeling. Whatever came from being is caught up in being, drunkenly forgetting its way back. The air you breathed, Officer Cook, sure smelled mighty fine and those pictures you snapped of nature sure were very beautiful. You were a very fine man, an inspiration from what your nephew, Justin and your niece, Gina told me. They all miss you and remember you for your good name, honesty and fine showmanship of accomplishment with all the traits so vital to making one a success in this community where you were cherished and very well respected. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 23, 2014

Each day is a gift from God and holds forth in time. It is written in the arched sky, it looks out from every star. It is spread out like a legible language upon the broad face of an non sleeping ocean. It is the poetry of nature, it is that which uplifts the spirit within us. And it was your wonderful life and career, Officer Cook, which did and has continued to uplift the spirits of your loving family members, fellow comrades of the police department, past and present and all the wonderful people that were friends of Karen and yourself. Your bravery, commitment to justice and excellence in performance of the duties given to you are what your legacy stands for. Obviously, police officers need all the proper tools and behavioral characteristics to function. You had them and much more to offer this world. As I've reflected in the past, God has now called you home to His golden kingdom to assist Him with a much more eternally fundamental task along with those who made the ultimate sacrifice like you. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Help expand the rays hope and optimism through society.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 23, 2014

May we shine with a pure inner passion that will spread rapidly through these leaden times. May we all awaken to our true and only nature-none other than our nature that we live and breath the fresh air outdoors. We call upon your superpowers God, in which you align the planets, stars and all that lies within your brilliant skies. Imbue our personalities an dour relationships with harmony, unity and peace. Fill us with a sense of immense time so that our brief flickering lives may truly reflect the work of vast ages past and also the millions of years of evolution whose potential lies in our trembling hands. O, stars, lend us your burning passion. O, silence give wait to our voice, we ask for the presence of your uplifting spirit. We call upon our fellow brothers and sisters who have laid down their lives in devotion and in faithfulness to their duties, shield them from any harm, allow their loved ones to remain steadfast to their pursuits as did their loved ones. Officer Cook, you'll never be forgotten and though your life was all too brief and your career cut short by a wanton act of violence and aggression toward you and your fellow officers, watch over the souls of your faithful comrades in this world, who like you carry a heavy burden. Help them to carry the torch of decency, decorum, dignity, honor and integrity as you so doggedly did for six years of determined service and protection. The people of Dade County expect nothing but the best and you my neighbor, friend and hero, delivered excellence each and everyday with a renewed sense of both passion and careful consideration. Rest in peace. The flames of hope and survival burn brightly because of your boldness to vanquish wickedness from the streets, which in turn has turned pessimism into a new spirit of optimism.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 22, 2014

We call upon the spirit of evolution, the miraculous force that inspires rocks and dust to weave themselves into biology. You have stood by us for millions and billions of years-do not forsake us now. Empower us and awaken in us pure and dazzling creativity. You that can turn scales into feathers, seawater to blood, caterpillars to butterflies, metamorphose our species, awaken in us the powers we need to survive the present crisis and evolve into more atoms of our solar journey. Awaken in us a sense of who we truly are: tiny ephemeral blossoms on the Tree of Life. Make the purposes and destiny of that tree our own purpose and destiny. Fill each of us with love for our true self.Fill us with the powerful urge to do good for the well being and unfolding of ourselves. May we speak on behalf of all human councils of all plants, animals, and landscapes of the earth. On behalf of all police officers who have ever worn the badge and uniform let us pray that they perform their assignments with the same acute awareness, sense of passion, care, consideration, honesty, dignity and integrity with a level head as you, Officer Cook, performed your job. Your boldness to banish evil on May 16, 1979 is so noted. Your swiftness to bravery, courageousness and valor shall always remain the vital cog in generations to come. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 22, 2014

Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes around to another form. The child weaned from mother's milk, now drinks wine and honey mixed. God's joy moves from unmarked box to unmarked box, from cell to cell. As rainwater, down into flowerbed. As roses, up from ground. Now it looks like a plate of rice and fish, now a cliff covered with vines, now a horse being saddled, it hides within these till one day it cracks open. There is the light gold of wheat in the sun and the gold of bread made from wheat....I have neither, I am only talking about them as a town in the desert looks up to stars on a clear night. We grieve for all of our brave and sincerely dedicated police officers such as yourself, Officer Cook, who have made the ultimate sacrifice which serves as our lesson on why we have such fine personnel who are willing to risk their lives to expose and to quash wickedness from the streets, that became a very dangerous challenge to talented officers like yourself. At night we just need to look up above and your soul as well as all the other brave souls are shining as brightly like those constellations. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, one day our tears will be replaced with smiles and happy faces, for we will see you once again. Those streets were your second home and those citizens understood and comprehended how your service and protection allowed them the chance to pave a path for new opportunities. Your beloved parents surely raised a very resourceful and prideful son.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 21, 2014

Now talking God, with your feet I walk. I walk with your limbs. I carry forth your body. For me your mind thinks. Your voice speaks for me. Beauty is before me and beauty is behind me. Above and below me hovers the beautiful. I am surrounded by it. I am immersed by it. In my youth I am aware of it. And in my old age I shall walk quietly the beautiful trail. Now you travel very peacefully, Officer Cook, high above in God's golden fruited plains. The brotherhood you created on behalf of all residents of Dade County shall and forever be emblazoned by dignity, honesty and integrity. You were the Metro-Dade Police Department's quintessential police officer, where progressive thinking, common sense and your soothing voice helped you both solve and resolve many a crisis. Your bravery, courage and valiant actions on May 16, 1979, have allowed all to remain safe and to live their lives and to carry forward their pursuits with a valid sense of optimism and unity. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 21, 2014

A long time ago I have lived with you. And now we must be going. Separately to be together. Perhaps I shall be the wind, to blur your smooth waters. So that you do not see your face too much. Perhaps I shall be the star, to guide your uncertain wings. So that you have direction in the night. Perhaps I shall be the fire to separate your thoughts so that you do not give up. Perhaps I shall be the rain, to open up the earth, so that your seed may fall. Perhaps I shall be the snow to let your blossoms sleep, so that you may bloom in spring. Perhaps I shall be the stream, to play a song on the rock, so that you are not alone. Perhaps I shall be the mountain, so that you always have a home. Your life and police career was cut way too short, Officer Cook, by wanton violence, but the accomplishments, the achievements humbly speaking far outweighed anything that could be taken from you. As I reflected in the past, your actions, your good qualities, your good name can never be taken from you. You were one of Metro-Dade Police Department's heroes to be sure. There is and was no mistaking your congeniality, your honorable ethics which backed up all of your dignity, integrity, bravery, courage and valor. You waged a daily war against evil and gave every ounce of your physical strength to help stem the tide. Evil and any kind of wickedness cannot ever triumph over goodness that we all hope is proudly and firmly represented in this great land of which you were a loyal and faithfully resourceful public servant whose loving care and consideration for a community is still felt all these years after your sacrifice. I meant to utilize the word meant, in which those citizens could sleep sounder and more securely because of you. You've reached that eternal mountain, the pinnacle, where now you have taken your place to look down from the heavens above helping God watch over those officers who try to keep up the good fight against tyranny and evil. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero against God's golden wings as your humble actions have allowed the seeds of peace, freedom and unity to blossom and multiply in Dade County forever.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 21, 2014

Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glint on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you wake in the morning hush, I am the swift, uplifting rush of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft starlight at night. Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. Truth be said, Officer Cook, your soul my neighbor, friend and hero rests in peace. You were a humane inspiration to all. All your career and life was encapsulated in good deeds, clean speech, honesty and a willingness to be most resourceful, loyal and quite unassuming as well as reliable and dependable. Always there in a pinch and May 16, 1979, bore out this fact explicitly.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 20, 2014

I am of the family of the universe and with us all together I do not fear being alone. I can reach out and touch a rock or hand or dip my feet in water. Always there is somebody close by and when I speak I am answered by a plane's roar or the bird's whistling or voices of others in conversation far apart from me. When I lie down to sleep, I am in the company of the dark and the stars. Breathe to me, sheep in the meadow. Sun and moon, my father and my father's brother, kiss me on the brow with your light. My sister, earth holds me up to be kissed. Sun and moon, I smile at you both and spread my arms in affection and lay myself down at full length for the earth to know I love it too and am never to be separated from it. In no way shall death part us. You sleep in the valley in the shadows of death, Officer Cook, where no harm will ever come your way again. I know your beloved wife, Karen, your loving sister, Nancy and your adored mother, Mrs. Julia Cook, miss embracing you. You were the apple of their eyes and you shall partake in the fruits of the next world and continue to be held up by God. The sacrifice you made my neighbor, friend and hero only serves to illuminate the world and dispel this wickedness. Rest in peace.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 19, 2014

Those who have passed are never gone. They are there in the thickening shadow. The non-living are not under the earth. They are in the tree that rustles, they are in the wood that groans, they are in the water that sleeps, they are in the hut, they are in the crowd, the non-living are not gone. Officer Cook, as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, we can ponder all the reasons as to why you should still be with us, still your loving and cherished soul floats overhead in God's deep blue heavenly skies shining forth, as though you were here. Your talents met all Dade County residents could certainly sleep more sounder and safer at night or whenever. It's no tall tale, you were a humble and devoted public servant who delivered pride, honor, dignity and integrity to your department, family and friends each day of your treasured young life and career. Your father, Charles and you can now and forever be held in God's palms promoting freedom, peace and unity for all. You live on by your deeds, good name and honorable upbringing. Evil can never ever take this away from a truly righteous and devout individual.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 19, 2014

We know ourselves to be made from this earth. We know this earth is made from our bodies. For we see ourselves. And we are nature. We are nature seeing nature. We are nature with a concept of nature. Nature weeping. Nature speaking of nature to nature. The blackbird flies in us, in our inner sight. We see the the arc of her flight. We measure the ellipse. We predict its climax. We are amazed. We are moved. We fly. We watch her wings negotiate the wind, the substance of the air, its elements and the elements of those elements and count those elements found in other beings, the sea urchin's sting, ink, this paper, our bones, the flesh of our tongues with which we make the sound "blackbird," the ear with which we hear, the eye which travels the arc of her flight. And yet the blackbird does not fly in us, but somewhere else free of our minds and now even free of our sight, flying in the path of her own will. You went out every second on the streets, Officer Cook, in a brave and a gallant effort to restore and to secure the rights and unity of all residents. Your heroics won't ever be overlooked or forgotten. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, keep soaring like an eagle. Your eyes and ears were vital in all your service and protection. Help God to assist those officers eyes and ears which need to be utilized with due diligence. hearing, seeing and proper speaking are the necessary tools of your profession, they surely need to be emphasized.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 18, 2014

The man whose mind is rounded out to perfection, knows full well, truth is not cut in half and things do not exist apart from the mind. Without divisions, grass, trees the sod on which they grow, all have the same kinds of atoms. Some are barely in motion, while others make haste along the path, but they will all in time. You were a very well rounded individual, Officer Cook, humbly and quietly confident in all your God given abilities. There are certain things you just cannot teach everyone. You my neighbor, friend and hero were taught all the lessons in life by your loving parents and took these examples to the next level of your very promising police career at the Metro-Dade Police Department. Rest in peace, a gift from Our Creator, you now rest in God's exclusive shelter where you and your comrades help Him with His patrols of those sacred golden streets.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 18, 2014

The force that through the green fuse drives the flower, drives my green age, that blasts the roots of trees, is my destroyer. And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose, my youth is bent by the same wintry fever. The force that drives the water through the rocks, drives my red blood, that dries the mouthing streams. Turns mine to was and I am dumb to mouth unto my veins. How at the mountain spring the same mouth takes in moisture. The hand that whirls the water in the pool, sites the quicksand that ropes the blowing wind. Hauls my shroud sail and I am dumb to tell the hanging man, how of my clay is made the hangman's line. There is a saying, may the force be with you. For twenty-five years of sweat, toil and exertion on our behalf, Officer Cook, how could the citizens you protected and served with distinction, loyalty and determination ever be thankful for bravery as you dispensed? You were a well, a plethora of information always looking for that one edge that would serve as a bountiful reason why we look up to the many talented brave souls of honor, class and kindness. You served and achieved much, you had much more to accomplish, God only knows. He calls the finest and most excellent of guardian angels to serve alongside of Him. keep steering His compass, as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Only pearls of wit and wisdom exited from your lips.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 17, 2014

Clouds are flowing in the river, waves are flying in the sky. Life is laughing in a pebble. Does a pebble ever die? Flowers grow out of the garbage, such a miracle to see. What seems dead and what seems dying makes for butterflies to be. Life is laughing in a pebble, flowers bathe in morning dew. Dust is dancing in my footsteps and I wonder who is who? Clouds are flowing in the river, clouds are drifting in my tea. On a never ending journey, what a miracle to be! You sure a floating and flying quite nicely, Officer Cook, your beloved soul has and will always sail above us on God's golden streets. For displaying your wisdom, maturity, leadership abilities all with honor, dignity and a vital integrity, you now can watch over us through the morning sun, the dew that saturates the grasses throughout the Dade County community where you served and protected its residents with the utmost due respect. Likewise, this was afforded you and after you made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. Stability and responsibility were many of your mainstays while with the Metro-Dade Police Department. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, like the morning sun and nighttime moon, continue watching over us with a renounced glow. You have been greatly missed and will forever be held in the highest regard. Happy ninety-ninth today Mrs. Cook. All in good health, peace and prosperity. You will forever be in my prayers and thoughts as will your husband, Charles, along with your courageously compassionate and caring son, Officer William C. Cook, Badge# 1664.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 17, 2014

The great sea has set me in motion. Set me adrift. And I move as a weed in the river. The arch of sky and mightiness of storms, encompasses me. And I am left, trembling with joy. And we all were left trembling and sobbing like babies when you left us much too early, Officer Cook. A sunny and hot day on May 16, 1979, when you gave your life and career as a loyal and resourceful police officer, who went into a community to quell an evil episode of violence carried on by a beserk young man. The wheels in motion surely turn, we, meaning your family, friends and fellow officers just wanted you to survive and to pull through. Others succeeded you on your watch, but make no mistake, there can truly only be one man, one loyally humane individual who would go out of their way voluntarily, just before your shift ended and see your way clear to attempt to cut off evil before it reared its ugliness. Officer Cook, your gallantry, your decency, your dignity has now and forever perpetuated in and around Dade County taking on a much more challenging notion to all future police officers. If they serve and protect the residents as you solemnly did, encompassing your values, morals and ethical behavior, they will survive, thrive and be humbly as successful as you. God has set you free for this world that you served and enjoyed working in with honor. Where you eternally reside there is no more heinousness, callousness and wanton violence to be spread. It is your eternal task to help your comrades wage war on this eradication of wickedness from our streets that you patrolled with decorum and exemplary consideration, care and compassion for all to live peacefully as one, unified by the same boundaries as one. Nothing small as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Your humility is a big torch for all to now lift up and to carry when duty calls.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 16, 2014

Birds nest in my arms, on my shoulders, behind my knees, between my breasts. There are quails, they must think I'm free. The swans think I'm a fountain, they all came down and drink when I talk. When sheep pass, they pass over me and perched on my fingers, the sparrows eat, the ants think I'm the earth and men think I'm nothing. Your spirit since that fateful day, May 16, 1979, Officer Cook, has been flying high. The birds and trees if they could communicate would say they've missed you taking beautiful pictures of them. Your were a mighty and truly dedicated officer, whose only intentions were to bring peace, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to all citizens. Everyone is important to the betterment of society each and in their own way shape and fashion. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. God certainly has a much higher calling for all of His devout and faithfully brave and valiant men and women of the law enforcement profession. So evil and to those who perpetrate it, take note!

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 16, 2014

All people, we are rain clouds, closer to the sun and full of life, soaking up the knowledge of the earth and storing it within ourselves moving on to spread truth throughout the world. We are dark clouds loved and feared ready to explode and give new life to a dying planet. Beautiful dark clouds casting shadows of darkness, shadows of dignity, shadows of love. Giving of ourselves to promote life, while realizing our ability to destroy, rain clouds, we are nature, nature, nature, natural!!! All people, we are rain clouds, closer to the sun and full of life. You were, Officer Cook, the light of the sun that spread the love of life. A compassionate soul, you helped to dispel the darkness of evil in the Dade County community where you were known, respected, admired and loved. Somehow we must carry on with the torch you carried and do it with honor, dignity, bravery, integrity and a solemn commitment as you made to those you served and protected with all your strength and resolve. There was much more left for both you and Karen to fulfill, the days would have been brighter together, the nights not as lonely, as you would have spent them either at home, a good restaurant, the movies or with family and friends. All this being said, life must continue and it is because of the many dedicated men and women of the law enforcement profession who place themselves in danger to enhance our freedoms peace, unity and goodwill throughout our modern day society of which you were and will forever continue to be a large part of. Your legacy is very secure as much as those you watched over for your six years wonderfully loyal and faithful years with the Metro-Dade Police Department. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Hello to you Chief Jacobs and God bless you. A healthy and happy New Year if you celebrate Rosh Hashanah. Your friend and classmate, Bill Cook, Officer William C. Cook to me has never been forgotten and never will if I can help it. Still look forward to humbly meeting you if you visit the warm confines of South Florida. Regards to you, Mrs. Cook. You will always be in my family's thoughts and prayers. Our Creator we must trust knows what He is doing.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 15, 2014

We depend on the trees and animals. We depend on the earth. Our minds open with wisdom and insight. Your maturity, wisdom and foresight was way ahead of your twenty-five years, Officer Cook. We live in all things. All things live in us. We dedicate our practice to others. We include all forms of life. We celebrate the joy of living and dying. Your life, Officer Cook has been celebrated, a better word, remembered for your unwavering determination and honesty. We live in all things, all things live in us. We are full of life, passing is a part of the lifecycle, all whoever live. We are all grateful for all beings and companions. And we are grateful in totality for your virtues and actions, my neighbor, friend and hero which saved the lives of your fellow officers and those civilians. Rest in peace. I know your spirit listens and takes notice of all the happenings in this world. One hopefully filled with solace, peace and goodwill for all citizens.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 15, 2014

We live by the sun. We feed by the moon. We move by the stars. We live in all things. All things live in us. We eat from the earth. We drink from the rain. We breathe of the air. We live in all things. All things live in us. We call to each other. We listen to each other. Our hearts deepen with love and compassion. We live in all things. All things live in us. All people, all police officers who sacrifice their lives shall always live in our minds and hearts. They are never far from our thoughts. You are never out of sight nor mind, Officer Cook, you played a key role in watching Dade County streets. You performed all your abilities with decorum and the mindset composed of dignity, honesty, integrity and a forthright righteousness. We call to you by day, afternoon and at night and your spirit calls back to us to keep the course, better yet for us to stay the proper course. Laugh, have fun and when the going gets tough, it's the tough that get going. You challenged your friends and colleagues to physically and mentally handle all the rigors that law enforcement and this profession throws our way. The sun, moon and earth are all aligned, you were a straight forward unwavering police officer who lined up each day to serve and to protect the rights, liberties, peace, unity and goodwill of those who respected you and still until this day salute you for your courageous act of boldness that headed off a much more dangerous situation. Saving lives is part of doing good and you my neighbor, friend and hero excelled mightily in this endeavor. Rest in peace. God's roll call is never missing those who laid down everything, that is what is called for from the men and women who lived their lives as heroes and heroines.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 14, 2014

Earth mother, star mother, you who are called by a thousand names, may we all remember we are cells in your body and dance together. You are the grain and the loaf that sustains us each day. And as you are patient with our struggles to learn, so shall we be patient with ourselves and each other. We are radiant light and sacred dark-the balance-you are the embrace that heartens and the freedom beyond fear, within you we are born, we grow, live and die.- You bring us around the circle to rebirth, within us you dance forever. We look back fondly to your life, Officer Cook, a well lived and well accomplished career dedicated to serving, protecting the citizens of Dade County who relied on your prodigious personality characterized by honor, integrity and dignity. No one had to be concerned regarding your trust, you were always there in time of need and May 16, 1979, was no exception, clearly a brave and courageously humane gentleman and a devoted police officer. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Nine eleven taught us so many lessons, your acuity and attention to detail also instructed and imparted many lessons. The brave and bold shall soar like eagles, continue soaring Officer Cook, you achieved much in your twenty-five years.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 14, 2014

Do not say that I will depart tomorrow, because even today I still arrive. Look deeply. I arrive in every second, to be a bud on a spring branch, to be a tiny bird with wings still fragile, learning to sing in my new nest, to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower, to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone. I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry, in order to hear and to hope, the rhythm of my heart is the birth and death of all that are alive. I am the mayfly metamorphosing in the surface of the river and I am the bird, which, when spring comes, arrives in time to eat the mayfly. I am the frog swimming happily in the clear water of a pond and I am also the grass snake who, approaching in silence, feeds itself on the frog. Wherever and whenever you were out on the streets on patrol, Officer Cook, people knew there was hope and a bit less despair. You heart and soul beat with the sounds of optimism and resolve. Your physical being has departed this world, but, your soul certainly soars like a bird roaming around God's heavenly plains looking to attempt to make sure officers today rid these streets of the wanton wickedness and abandonment, that are of themselves the root of our liberties being uprooted. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 13, 2014

Teach your children what we have taught our children-that the earth is our mother.Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves. This we know. The earth does not belong to us, we belong to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. We did not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. You, Officer Cook and your sister, Nancy, were taught the values of honesty and dignity. This is truly the only way to live and carry on with a very successful life and career. And yours was truly no exception. You comported yourself as a Metro-Dade Police Officer with scruples, morals, were very diligent and devout in any thing that you were assigned to. The citizens of Dade County could find solace in knowing that they had a true humble hero, whose ideals graced a community in a very humane way where you watched and served. The web of trouble you walked into on May 16, 1979, only reinforces what we come to expect from our brave men and women who serve and protect to guarantee the freedoms, peace, unity and the goodwill of the people. The entire police family is composed of stellar character individuals who bleed the same red blood as we do and often are called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice to benefit the advancement of mankind. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, you were a grand part of this earth, you now serve, Officer Cook, as one of God's golden ambassadors. The humility you displayed is now and forever eternally essential in helping to keep this land's streets safe.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 13, 2014

Why climb a mountain? Look! A mountain there. I don't climb mountains. They climb me. Mountain is myself, I climb on myself. There is no mountain, nor myself. Something moves up and down in the air. You climbed the mountain to become a very diligent and observant police officer, Officer Cook. There was nothing that ever prevented you from becoming a success. You endeared yourself to those who trusted your instincts to solve and resolve any dilemmas that would arise. Some of today's officers have trouble just making it through the police academy, never mind making it around the corner. You were a block away on May 16, 1979, you answered a domestic call you responded to many other times. You tried your best to coax a troubled young man to surrender, something that was the proper thing to do that might have prevented the mayhem and bloodshed that led to your tragic passing. But, make no mistake, you were a hero, Officer Cook, you were the embodiment and had the empowerment to make citizens lives safer, securer and more unified. Your humane act of boldness will always be remembered forever. Your good name graces the marble walls of Tropical Park in Miami where other brave men and women sacrificed for the goodness of the people. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 12, 2014

Please call me by my true names, so I can wake up and so the door of my heart can be left open to the door of compassion. You went by "Bill," "Billy," and Officer William C. Cook, a giver and a man full of passion who was the champion of all people you served and protected with honesty, dignity, integrity, bravery, courage and valor. Heroes and heroines are born with these character traits which are the making of their beloved parents. You took these to your manhood and the Metro-Dade Police Department and for six years of devoted and vital patrol, they all served you quite well. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 12, 2014

In the mad cosmic, stones plant mountains, greet me bees and rats, lions and eagles, stars twilight dawns, rivers and jungles all ask me, what is new, how are you doing? And while stars and waves have something to say, it's through my mouth they will say it. Your relatives and friends all say it, they testify to it, that you were a hero through and through, fiercely loyal and dependable to your comrades and the residents of Dade County that you served and protected with all your might, common sense of calm, rationale, honesty, dignity and integrity. You were the best of the best. When the challenge came, you passed all the tests with flying colors. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Keep those golden streets safe, as very sadly you have welcomed other fallen officers recently. God has a very rich assembly of His finest brave women and men who stepped up to the plate, in giving their lives to secure our liberties and unity.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 11, 2014