Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

In Psalm twenty-three, we find the phrase, "You anointed my head with oil." God is saying to the throng of billions of people of which you, Officer Cook, were granted the privilege of feeling special. We all are special, but what set you apart from others was your humility, your humbleness, you were not haughty. You carried yourself with class and dignity at all times as long as you wore the badge of Dade County and its police uniform. In God's eyes, every one of us is royalty, not only in dignity, but in our responsibility to carry out the tasks to which God has assigned us. God calls upon us to be alert at all times for one of the fragments of His shattered model of a perfect world and when we find one, to pick it up, clean it off and try to fit it into the larger picture. My neighbor, friend and hero, for twenty-five years and for six years as a veteran officer this is exactly what you were trained and conditioned to do. it was your onus to make us safer and you fulfilled God's desires and wishes as you were commanded. Rest in peace and help us find, pick up and clean off the dirt that has soiled us. Give another chance to those who have transgressed. Your soul will forever be anointed by God's everlasting supply of oil for all the days to come. This society needs for us to take the words of Psalm twenty-three quite literally and seriously, not figuratively. Urgency once again is essential to the task at hand. You found a way, Officer Cook, now lead us with God's help to find the way to get it accomplished, if peace is to reign in this modern day world of what ifs.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 4, 2013

Nothing pleases God more than when we ask for what He wants to give. When we spend time with Him and allow His priorities, passions and purposes to motivate us, we will ask for the things that are closest to His heart. Now you are in our hearts forever, Officer Cook and your wonderfully enriched and blessed soul has continued its journey to heaven that started on May 16, 1979. May all your journeys and those officers that have since joined you since then, enjoy a restful and a most peaceful trip that lasts for eternity. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 4, 2013

By the miracle of His life in us and with us, we will realize our greatest achievements. The crowning achievement of your life and career as a dedicated Metro-Dade Police Officer, Officer Cook, was in making people believe in their value and true worth to their community. Sadly, in making this reality happen, your courage and bravery to duty caused you to sacrifice your life for the common good of your community of which you took an affirmation to serve and protect. You'll forever be your family's true blue hero, whose very soul now shines as brightly as the sun and moon. Your friends and colleagues in the various police departments in Florida and around the country will not soon forget you and the morals you firmly established in this world. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 4, 2013

God isn't trying to just take away; He's faithfully at work to make room to add. the old saying, "Addition by Subtraction" doesn't apply here. Obviously, Officer Cook, you and your fellow comrades who gave their lives all were believers in God and His Divine Providence. The tragedy of your loss to your family, friends and colleagues is a pain that won't subside. Time endeavors at God's hands to heal the wounds and gaping hole left by your passing. God did add strength, productivity and spiritual power in your life. God tries to bring us closer to Him in as nearly a complete image as possible to Him. Your valor enhanced your performance to the degree that you were commended for a job well done. A test of faith doesn't really test anything unless it pushes you past your last test. Risking ones life in a profession as police work is truly the test, a similar test as Abraham conducted when God told him to take his son, Issac to mount Moriah and when he started to pick up the ax to kill him, the angels overhead said stop and God told Abraham you passed My test. My neighbor, friend and hero, you passed all your tests and now your shining legacy serves as our vision into the future. Continue to keep watch on us and if we fall into bad habits or if something negative may occur keep it from happening with God and your fellow comrades assistance. Rest in peace.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 4, 2013

I don't know if I left this reflection for you, Officer Cook, in July, 1982, a Lt. Cheryl Seiden was shot and killed in the line of duty. Her husband Mark Seiden, worked in the department and I believe you knew him and another officer, David Graveline. Sgt. Seiden went on to become a lawyer and Mr. Graveline I believe, works in Serius radio. He used to announce for several radio stations in South Florida. Mrs. Seiden taught parochial school at Visitation Catholic Church where you and your wife, Karen, prayed. Coincidence or irony, don't know, but something you or your family may have remembered. She is buried at Lakeside Memorial Park in Doral, down the block from the Main Headquarters of The Miami-Dade County Police Department. The cemetery is Jewish and she is resting in peace at the Degania Section, where two other South Florida officers are buried. Miami beach Detective Scott R. Rakow and a Sergeant from Miami Beach Police Department, named Donald Kramer. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero along with these other honorable and dedicated officers. Lt. Seiden was the first female Metro-Dade Officer killed in the line of duty. Since her death, four other female Metro-Dade officers have been killed in the line of duty. One officer, Frank Searcy was killed on March 27, 1974, but his name for some unknown reason is not listed on the Officer Down Memorial page and yet his name is either just above or below your name on the Marble Wall of Honor at Tropical Park. I miss you very much and still so sorry we could never get together and meet one another.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 3, 2013

If you confess with your mouth that the Lord is Your God and believe in your heart that He raised you from the non-living, you will be saved. One day Officer Cook, we all have to face a time of reckoning and if we achieved success, we will be blessed, if not God-forbid the results will be catastrophic. Hopefully, only positive ramifications will take place and then we can finally all greet you with a cheerful smile as you so often displayed while being with us and taking the same breathes we take. Your family lives on for your sake, for your righteousness, for your good name and we should never take things for granted. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 3, 2013

A great teacher from two thousand years ago, Freely chose to show our maker's everlasting love for us by offering to take all of our flaws, darkness and mistakes into His very body. The result was that God invites us to believe this truth in our hearts and follow Him one day into eternal life. You have followed God Officer Cook and so too have twenty-thousand other fine men and women so brave and unique to risk their very lives to save us from terrible harm. They and you are one of a kind never can we see you physically again, but we can feel your soul like the wind swirling around us. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 3, 2013

If you have ever: questioned if this is all there is to life...wondered what happens when you die...felt a longing for purpose or significance...wrestled with resurfacing anger...struggled to forgive someone...known there is a "higher power," but couldn't define it...sensed you have a role to play in the world... experienced success and still felt empty afterward...then consider God. After all you went through, Officer Cook, we can ask questions and ponder the deep mysteries in life, but sooner, rather than later God will provide us with His answers. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero and thank you so much for being there to save us from evil and leaving your footprint for us to carry as your legacy.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 3, 2013

Hear my cry, O God; give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for You have been a refuge for me. We hear people crying and see the suffering over your tragic passing. Officer Cook, you were the rock, the foundation, the glue that kept us in place. You stayed true to your values and ideals. The principles of faith were forever sewn on your being. Always in our hearts as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 3, 2013

No matter where we are, God can hear us from there! He loves to hear our hearts' prayers and draw near when we call to Him. We can hear your beloved soul Officer Cook, crying out for us, but God gives us the signal when He is ready for us to greet you once again. You are always near to us in spirit and looking back we realize you did an excellent job protecting and serving Dade County citizens. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 3, 2013

We do not know what we ought to pray for, but God's spirit itself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of God's Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. The saints being angels. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.God calls all His angels for a purpose. You were summoned Officer Cook, for a reason and that was to protect officers down in this world from the evil that took your life in a wanton and callous manner. We say prayers each day to begin on a clean slate so to speak and to recognize our acceptance of your soul and its treasured beauty that one day we will see you again when the Messiah comes to redeem us all. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 3, 2013

Keep company with God, get in on the best. Open up before God, keep nothing back; He'll do whatever needs to be done: He'll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon. God has given you, Officer Cook, not only His stamp of approval, but His seal of one too. Your acts of bravery on duty and beyond what was required of you that day, spell out why you were such an excellent police officer. The community remembered your goodness and honesty. Your deeds of loyalty will never go unrewarded. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 3, 2013

I love the Lord because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! You prayed, Officer Cook and so did your comrades that you would pull through. God took you on a journey that never has an ending. He forever has your soul and that of other officers who were as brave and honorable as you in His midst surrounding Him as you stay by Him and watch over all officers in this world who risk their beings every day for us. You probably bent down to lend your ear and give advice to someone from time to time. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 3, 2013

God has a wonderful plan for each person he has chosen. He knew even before he created this world what beauty he would bring forth from our lives. Indeed this is true. If you look in the Old Testament, or in the Torah, the first three words of the Book of Genesis spell out like a finely written movie script, "In The Beginning." except this is not make believe. God created the heaven and the earth. The last letters of In The Beginning God created, spell out the word truth. Officer Cook, I'm sure you and Karen had an opportunity to either read or to discuss these words among your fellow church members. I know as faithful and as devout as you both were you believed with all your heart and mind that everything God did for you both was only done in truth. There is no such thing of course as someone passing in vain if they are a police officer who stood firm in their convictions. We say God is the Judge of truth. One day my neighbor, friend and hero, we all hope to come and glean the lessons for why such ignominious acts happen and why did this occur to you. Rest in peace. Anyone who aids another person and loses their life doesn't deserve to die. Death is a part of life and a life well lived deserves to be chronicled as your life certainly does. The county remembers all of its brave men and women once a year, I think perhaps a couple more times might be the right and noble thing to do.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 3, 2013

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth...He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else...God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each of us."For in Him we live and move and have our being." Every moment, every movement, every motion is a direct result of God's handiwork. Happiness, calamity, tragedy and joy occur from God. Police officers place their life's as you did Officer Cook in God's hands as He guides you on your way. We of course try to find solid reasons as to why God needed you to be with Him at such a young age when you had plenty more to contribute to our society. Every creature has a meaning and purpose on this earth and we should not lessen that foundation. Your purpose my neighbor, friend and hero was to serve and protect us from evil and to be our shield of which you performed your duties very masterfully. Rest in peace. One day the answers to all the questions will be forthcoming and have a giant exclamation mark over them.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 3, 2013

Look up at all the stars in the night sky and hear Your father saying, "I carefully set each one in its place. Know that I love you more than these." Sit by the lake's edge, listening to the water lapping the shore and hear Your Father gently calling you to that place near His heart. He has called to you, Officer Cook, to be with Him like a diamond in the rough. As your soul illuminates the night skies this is a signal to us that we better be on our toes and doing a superb job as you did in fulfilling God's wishes. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 3, 2013

The longer I live, the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and the wonder of the world. Now that you've passed, Officer Cook, we should dwell on God's beautiful sights of which you so thoroughly enjoyed being in. Our minds should think back, those who were privileged to have known you and to recall the good times that were spent with you. Your colleagues and all the interesting people you came across should reflect on a life distinguished and full of character and honesty. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. I just wished God had granted you more time with us, but I do know that you are squarely in God's master blueprint forever to observe the coming and goings of this world.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 3, 2013

If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in nature and will realize that it is holy and sacred. We will see God reaching out to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms and every leaf that fades. You Officer Cook, treasured the great outdoors as a skilled amateur photographer. You and Karen both enjoyed doing things in the outside world to sort of de-stress from your job. You took things in stride and made the most of your days. Every time we look up we see your soul doing what souls do best and that is to make our days a lot more cheerful and brighter. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 3, 2013

Lord, give me work to do; give me health; give me joy in simple things, give me an eye for beauty, a mouth to speak truth and a heart full of love. So help us, you were born with these wonderful gifts, Officer Cook. You used them properly to personify why God gives us opportunities to achieve a life full of happiness and meaning. Your soul that rests in peace my neighbor, friend and hero is the very reason of why we need to carry on with what you passed on down to each of us in this world. It comprised the essence of your existence. The legacy of what you represented is out there, now is the time for us to act upon this highly important circumstance. There is a sense of urgency, we must not procrastinate!

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 2, 2013

God said, "If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." You lived by this example, Officer Cook, all the days of your life. No matter what line of work or profession you would have undertaken. It was this motto that you proudly worn your uniform and carried your badge with honor right until your last breath. You were a very brave soul indeed. We need more people like you my neighbor, friend and hero. Rest in peace.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 2, 2013

From the tiny birds of the air and from the fragile lilies of the field we learn the same truth, which is so important for those who desire a life of simple faith; God takes care of His own. He knows our needs. He anticipates our crises. He is moved by our weaknesses. He stands ready to come to our rescue. And at just the right moment he steps in and proves Himself as our faithful heavenly father. God indeed guided you through the good and bad, Officer Cook. If only He could have brought you back to us how grateful we would have been. There are lessons to be learned and applied to our daily lives, that's for sure. Never give up and make the most of what God puts on your plate. If we live as you lived, Officer Cook, with honor, dignity and integrity, we will come out all right. You kept the faith that God would watch over you while doing your job and now He is cradling you with all His might as you help Him along with your comrades who remained steadfast in protecting our communities. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 2, 2013

God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love-like He is in everything. We take our lead from Him, he who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love. You grew up, Officer Cook as a robust young man with our the promises and potentials to really make a dent for a positive result in this world. And you never once disappointed anyone for a mere moment. It was always about how you could improve upon what you had already embarked upon. Your source of strength girded your loving family and provided your colleagues with an outlet in which to channel their concerns. You were always available for them any time any day. Now let us hope we can be their for them to look back and create an environment where we can give back, for what you gave to your community. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. You should have had the opportunity to grow older and age like a fine wine. As reflected about you, you were more mature than your years and those were well fulfilled years indeed.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 2, 2013

The reason for loving God is God Himself and the measure in which we should love Him is to love Him without measure. And you and Karen, Officer Cook loved God for all the wonderful things he provided you both. You were given the impetus to become an excellent police officer because of your uncanny ability to work very hard to make a success of yourself. God gives us tests each moment to witness personally if we are keeping up to His standards that are expected of civil and rational human beings. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 2, 2013

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Your unwavering amount of love and piety will always abound in our hearts, Officer Cook and your memory is firmly etched in our minds for all time. You left a terrific family who will forever love and miss your inner spirit and friends and colleagues who will be indebted to you for saving them for certain death. Your life at twenty-five years of age is going to be remembered as a hallmark for other officers to endeavor to follow in your footsteps. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 2, 2013

I'm a little pencil in the hands of a loving God who is writing a love letter to the world. We should be writing a little token of our esteem for you, Officer Cook. After all it's not everyday that men and women, sacrifice their lives. I say thank God not everyday, yet when it occurs, it's still one too many. Thank God for creating heroes and heroines among us willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to benefit our foundation. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

March 2, 2013