Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Police Officer William Coleman Cook

Metro-Dade Police Department, Florida

End of Watch Wednesday, May 16, 1979

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Reflections for Police Officer William Coleman Cook

Officer Cook, you undertook an assignment no matter how large or small and kept your composure regardless of what was happening in the streets. Sometimes if buying the groceries is what's needed, rather than preparing and cooking the meal, then that is what you did. In police work, officers face conditions that are not always serene and ideal. Violence is always something an officer needs to be aware and their safety is of paramount importance. Each day presents risks of which you were aware of and you did your utmost to preserve life and property. For this you are to be commended. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 9, 2013

Sometimes relationships and partnerships need repairing and I'm sure you Officer Cook, were there to mend them. You were the perfect officer in the sense that you could restore order and dignity where it was needed the most. You always were a true gentleman and went out of the way to help others maintain their grace and dignity. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. You were not a fence stradler, you took a stand and were completely fair and unbiased in your assessments.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 9, 2013

In the nick of time on May 16, 1979 you arrived at the scene in Liberty City to save two civilians and four of your fellow officers with courage and heroic efforts needed to try and calm down a young man who strayed from the proper path. Your basic instincts kicked in and your performed beyond the bounds of valor. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. God has plans for us all and now you can rest in that certainly along with other officers as courageous as you in making the ultimate sacrifice.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 9, 2013

The simple pleasures of the world were what you and Karen, Officer Cook, enjoyed the most. It's sad you not here today to enjoy them with her or your loving family and friends, but your family and friends do pay honor to your memory and the importance of living a quality life filled with achievement. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Whatever pleasures your family takes in and enjoys is done strictly with you in mind as they can look back years from now and fondly remember your very life and how special a gentleman you were. You appreciated all that you were given. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 9, 2013

When a cry for help would go out on the radio, there was Officer Cook, on the scene to offer whatever assistance he could offer. This is very much lacking in police officers today. The pride you delivered to people each day should never go unnoticed. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 9, 2013

During holiday times, I'm pretty certain that you surprised your beloved mother, Mrs. Julia Cook with gifts and you were her darling son, who was this world's most treasured gift for twenty-five years of invaluable service to your community. You provided the top quality heroic service that is missed and would be very much appreciated today. You cared so much for your parents and after your beloved father, Charles, passed away, you always took the time to stop after your shift to ascertain that your mother was doing well. You and Karen honored your parents the way children should afford them respect for all they do to enable us to be successful in our endeavors. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 9, 2013

You climbed the mountain of success and experienced the peak of experience. Only thing today some of us can only get a little peek into what it takes to make a man. A person such as yourself, Officer Cook, the genuine definition of character, who was molded with grace, dignity and honor so prevalent during your distinguished career to Dade county and its citizens. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Of course to get to the top, you probably had to overcome some pitfalls along the way.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 9, 2013

You were that tower of power that other officers leaned on for support in good and bad times. When times get rough, we lean on your rising spirit, Officer Cook, to steer our journeys and pathways in life to a common bond. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 9, 2013

God's spirit is what you need. The Holy hookup defeats the human inadequacy. God's spirit makes the difference. It sure did in your life, Officer Cook. It made all the difference in the world. Without trusted and loving and honorable servants such as yourself, chaos would continue to pour down on this society. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 7, 2013

It's comforting to know Officer Cook, that God brings light to darkness and strength to the weak. He bears and answers your prayers in the midst of grief. He brought light to your family, and the spiritual power to your comrades to carry on your legacy. A legacy that those who knew and loved and cherished you would be most proud of. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Your soul is providing the light to dispel the world's evil ways. we do have good citizens that live on this earth and try to achieve greatness through their good deeds and dignity.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 7, 2013

God teaches that His way is ultimately the best way-even when people resist learning this important truth. Then He turns their resistance into praise. If only that fateful day, could God turned that young man's anger into compassion. You displayed compassion and resisted using your weapon until forced to do so. You'll never be forgotten for your pristine effort and high caliber character which enabled you to be the very best officer you could possibly be. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 7, 2013

As the wind howls and the rain pelts your breath, your job, your relationship, run to God-first. He is there and His shelter is everlasting. In you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. Plan your steps, but trust God,to direct them according to His purpose. Only He knows the plans He has for you-plans for hope and a future. Officer Cook, God watching over you and Karen ever so faithfully driving your careers in a most opportune and successful way. God's kindness toward you, your family and friends was evident by the way you turned yourself pathways in achievements that will continue to shine brightly for a lifetime. Your life was a lifetime example of how one should conduct and comport themselves publicly and in private with their spouse. God had plans for you my neighbor, friend and hero and they were for you to continue now and into the future to observe your comrades in this world waging war against evil as long as society allows people to run aground. Rest in peace and keep our compasses on target toward peace and unity that they can someday merge and evil will totally be eradicated once and for all.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 7, 2013

As God protects you with His unbounded love, so you responsible for safeguarding your friends. satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. When you search for the right words and tone of voice, you can be a source of hope and inspiration to your friends in matters both great and small. An important part of friendship is becoming open enough to participate in the dreams of others. Friends are God's angels sent to keep you safe. Praise God and thank Him for the wonderful gift of friendship.You are an extension of God's love and grace for them in the world. You're happier when you lift and not lean to serve others. when you extend your hand to help someone get to the top of the hill, you get closer to the top yourself. Friends provide reality and you need not fear a collision with reality because God is where he should be. As you search about for God, keep your eyes on your goal. Always keep in mind the prize you are reaching for and encourage your friends to do the same. Through your friends, God ministers to you in marvelous ways. Often, friends are the means by which God answers your ardent and desperate prayers. Laughter is a reflection of God's love and mercy as it is God's comment on His creation. Friends share: love, purpose and direction. They are a favored source for the flow of God's love and blessings. Officer Cook, this reflection sums up how you befriended others and they in turn befriended you. You were there for them in happy times and they turned out to pay homage to you when you made the ultimate sacrifice for them to continue their lives. Your total unselfishness will always reap the rewards from heaven and your devout soul continues to rise as high as the clouds for all you meant to your family, colleagues and friends from the community. You are our source of faith, unity and unbending loyalty and devotion to the Almighty. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. The faith your parents instilled in both you and your sister, Nancy is one of living with grace and pursuing it in an honorable fashion.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 7, 2013

God will guide you as you try to conform your behavior to His, particularly when your dealing with forgiveness. Everyone makes mistakes and needs to be forgiving and forgiven. I'll say if I have reflected something about you Officer Cook, that I hope is in good character, I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I do hope your beloved mother, Mrs. Julia Cook is in good health and enjoying living in San Diego, California, near her two grandsons, Josh and Justin, your nephews and Justin was the person I gave a letter to give to your mom and she took the time to write back a beautiful letter of sentiment. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. I'm happy to go and visit your grave and offer a small prayer to honor your memory and sacrifice to our community. Your commitment means a lot to me.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 7, 2013

Always try to look into the hearts of your friends and meet their needs, even as God knows the deepest needs of your heart and never fails to provide for them. You always took care of your family, Officer Cook and were an excellent provider and support system for Karen. God is always going to be at your family's side and your beloved and beneficent soul will be as well. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. If your family ever needs anything I'll endeavor to help them.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 7, 2013

When events in our world bring us dismay and we fear that evil is prospering, God reminds us that evil acts invariably carry the seeds of their own destruction. When people disappoint us, when they cannot give us what we need, whether because our needs are too great or because their emotional resources are too meager, god is our reliable friend, an inexhaustible source of love and strength. and when we find ourselves wondering aimlessly through the world, wondering why we are here and what our lives will have meant when they are over, God blesses us with a sense of purpose, a challenge, a list of moral obligations and opportunities, every one of which will give us the sense of living our days in His presence. There is pain in the world. If we are to be truly alive, we cannot hide from it. But we can survive it and God's caring presence lessens the pain. There is death in the world, robbing us of the ones we love and one day robbing them of our presence. But God who is immortal assures us that death may take a person out of our future, but cannot remove them from our past, that all things we loved a person for have entered so deeply into our souls that they remain part of us. The Lord gives, but the Lord does not take away and their presence is every bit as real as their absence. Your truly fruitful life, Officer Cook, was filled with joy and pride and now becomes our bond, our linkage to the present, past and the future. You are watching from the heavens above as all our dreams are hopefully going to be fulfilled and reach fruition, as did your dreams, aspirations and goals in which you were firmly able to enhance the society in which you grew up and achieved. The sadness of you not being here is felt in the community where you grew up and all throughout the law enforcement community of which you were a key partner in making people feel safe and sound. The seeds that you planted in your family through your good deeds will remain the legacy by which we will be judged. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero along with your beloved father, Charles. Both of you brought meaning to life and enjoyed lives well lived through your accomplishments.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 6, 2013

Always hold fast to God's example of steady, unwavering love for your friends. God delivers the people you need and the people who need you. He grants you the ability to recognize and rejoice in these people as His gifts, as the Lord watches over the lives of the innocent and their reward will last forever. We need you, Officer Cook, to steady our journeys through life and know that up in heaven, your soul is surely helping steer the rudder. You were a true friend to all and when they reached out to shake your hand or to greet you, the moment that occurred, it touched their very heart. Your fellowship and friendship are indeed very much missed today, but we know and recognize that one day we will meet and greet you again. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. In your last moments, Officer Cook, the unwavering support was present with you, it's just a terrible tragedy you are not here with us. The undying love for your community is how your legacy will enhance those who pursue the values you so vibrantly fought for.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 6, 2013

Remain open to God's amazing grace, which will empower you as His instrument to help make those who need help. Allow Him to make your heart responsive and wise in counseling your friends. You were a great peer leader, Officer Cook, answering the call whenever it came. Your sagely pearls of advice and wisdom were always spread out through your department and you were there for your fellow officers to garner and to pick your mind and the ideas you thought of that would make your job a bit easier. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 6, 2013

I celebrate and shout because you are kind. You saw all my suffering and you cared for me. You are a sister or brother to everyone in god's family. friendship is the kindness God wants you to show others. We celebrate your extraordinary life, Officer Cook, one that was replete with accomplishments, awards and accolades all rich deserved for all your care and charisma with your righteous character blended in to help make us feel safe. The excellent service you provided Dade County citizens should and will never overlooked. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Let us hope and pray that those officers who have taken over your watch are as efficient and motivated as you were in serving the public with dignity, honor and integrity.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 6, 2013

There is fear in the world. There is vulnerability and uncertainty. god cannot tell us that nothing bad will ever happen to us, but God can tell us that we not be afraid of the future, no matter what it holds. He cannot protect you from evil without taking away from other people the human power of choosing between good and bad. He cannot protect you from illness or bad luck. He can'y spare you from death and let you and those around you live forever. Be He can give you the resources to transcend and overcome those fears, so that bad luck never causes you to lose faith in yourself, so that bad people never cause you to lose faith in humanity, so that the inevitability of death never causes you to give up on the holiness of life. You lived for a purpose, Officer Cook and that purpose was the foundation of what you desired to become. It took you much effort and the proper resources to channel your energy into making a destiny for both Karen and yourself. Both of your jobs, rather professions can be demanding at times, rigorous and physically and mentally challenging. There are sometimes gloomy days, days of loss and failure, but we know more often than not the light of the sun will chase away the darkness and one's human spirit will rise above the failure. fear will assault us, but we will not be afraid for You are with me. This is the way you and Karen personified the lives you undertook when you married each other, Officer Cook. You were aware of the possible dangers, it's just sometimes difficult to prepare for the inevitable. You cannot just become a police officer and say there are no fears, of course they exist. You try to prepare, to overcome. tragically, evil can undo all the promise that one takes upon themselves in life. You lived life along with Karen, Officer Cook, never taking anything for granted. You sacrificed your being to make us feel safer and for this you deserve our greatest thank you. You truly personify what a true blue hero is all about. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. You met the challenges of your job head on right until your last breath that came from your being. Your soul is resting and watching us constantly seeing if we are up to the same challenges and tasks that you performed for our benefit.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 6, 2013

God is your model for friendship. He is never too busy to hear your cry for help, never too distracted to reach out to you when you need Him. That day as the events in liberty City unfolded Officer Cook, I can't imagine the terror that depraved young man caused that led to your untimely passing. But you can rest assure, you'll not ever be forgotten. God took you up to shelter, protect and keep your soul safe as you never ever disappointed anyone as God-fearing an individual as you were so help me God. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. When the mold was cut, Officer Cook, you were the model of consistency in both your appearance and demeanor.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 5, 2013

Sunrise breaks through the darkness for good people. All times of the day represent good hard working men and women such as yourself, Officer cook. The paragon of virtue, you were a cut above most people and as I've stated before, wiser than your years on this earth. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 5, 2013

There exists forms of union, higher than any that can be spoken, stronger than the greatest forces, with the power that is their destiny, those who live this are no longer separated, they are one. Is it not necessary for those who know this to recognize each other? Yet some do not and they are deprived of this joy. Those who recognize each other, know the joy of living together in this fullness. For your marriage to Karen, Officer Cook, you may have had just a few years, but those years were totally golden in how you spent them and their total quality. You both were meant for each other and your professions without a doubt, complimented one another. When one is born, this is not a second to waste in getting started and off and running. You ran to pursue justice. You ran to pursue peace. You ran to lend a hand where needed and you answered all your calls with honor and integrity, grace personified. And now because of your gallantry, you can rest in peace with your beloved father, my neighbor, friend and hero. Perhaps from heaven where you are watching over us, you can put something positive and constructive into the minds and bodies of rogue officers who run to pursue evil and disgrace their badges and uniforms in the process. This is most definitely something you, Officer William C. Cook would not have tolerated!

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 5, 2013

When you are living in harmony with your mission, you will naturally attract the other souls, who agreed to fulfill this destiny with you, these are your true soul mates. You and your wife, Karen, Officer Cook, used your energy and motivation to help each other function at an optimum level in your professions. The promise you had, Officer Cook, spurred your desire to achieve success in becoming an excellent police officer with the proper training and tools. This truly was your destiny, my neighbor, friend and hero in helping others make a big difference in this world. Rest in peace. Now your journeys are eternal in nature and you and your fellow comrades who bravely laid down their lives for liberty and peace can commence with assisting God in His duty as His true blue watch officers.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 5, 2013

There is no darkness that cannot be defeated by the light of love in one of these expressions. When all are present in harmony, evil cannot exist at all. There is no problem for which the instruction to love more is not the solution. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, Officer Cook. Your lighted soul will always be lit, never will it be extinguished.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 4, 2013

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