Sergeant Larry Dale Cottingham

Larry Dale Cottingham

Sergeant Larry Cottingham suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after disarming a suicidal woman.

Sergeant Cottingham had responded to the scene, calmed and disarmed the woman, and then escorted her to the local emergency room.

Shortly after returning to the station, Sergeant Cottingham started to feel ill and called a fellow deputy who lived nearby to ask for assistance. The deputy responded to the station and immediately transported Sergeant Cottingham to the hospital. Doctors determined that he was too weak to undergo surgery. He remained in intensive care until passing away two days later.

Sergeant Cottingham was a US Army veteran of the Korean War. He had served with the Henderson County Sheriff's Office for 25 years. He is survived by his wife, three sons, two sisters, and two grandchildren.