Metro-Dade Police Department, Florida
End of Watch Wednesday, May 16, 1979
Reflections for Police Officer William Coleman Cook
Love makes burdens lighter, because you divide them. It makes joys more intense, because you share them. It makes you stronger, so that you can reach out and become involved with life in ways you dared not risk alone. You definitely made us safer Officer Cook. lessened our anxiety about our freedoms. You made family events much more happier with your sense of humor. Your risked your all so we would not have to bear the burden of such responsibility. For this you should rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 21, 2013
In the deepest heart of everyone, God planted a longing for Himself as he is; a God of love. You were taken from us, Officer Cook, to be among God's loyal eternal servants. Your goodness is and will be everlasting in this world. When we see you again someday, this will make us feel as though you never left our side. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 21, 2013
If.. you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul. You found God Officer Cook and he now keeps you comfortable for eternity, sheltered safely away from harm. You were His loyal public servant and you have been judged for your good natured heart, the heart that had a hard time saying no to people. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 21, 2013
Which command in God's Law is the most important? The answer is Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence. This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: Love others as well as you love yourself. These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them. Officer Cook, your life was centered around the "Golden Rule." The world we live in might be less violent if people lives by these simple words. They convey an important message to all people in all professions or walks of life. Police officers who are charged with serving the public interest as you so skillfully did for six years, other officers have at times an issue with keeping up and living by this creed. You didn't and you paid the ultimate price with integrity, honor and dignity personified. You loved everything about life, your wife, your family, your friends and just about anyone who came up to you to start a conversation. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 21, 2013
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then....they will be my people and I will be their God. It all starts with creation and the story of Adam and Eve. It began Officer Cook, when God created you through your parents and they instilled in you and your sister, Nancy, all the values that would one day take you to new heights. You had to climb perhaps higher than most ordinary people to become a treasured legacy for all time in Dade County. This was to become a police officer. The affirmation, you my neighbor, friend and hero took meant more than words alone. It was through your constant acts of good deeds. The people of Dade County owe you and other Dade County officers who sacrificed their lives for the good of the people this same debt of gratitude. You'll always be in my thoughts and prayers along with your beloved mother, Mrs. Julia Cook. Rest in peace.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 21, 2013
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. The wisest of men, Officer Cook, whatever emanated from your lips was like a well gushing full of oil. Your profound abilities coupled with a gifted heart, enabled you to give back to a community that today sorely misses your inspiring leadership, coupled with your undeniable hunger to educate those officers today on what it takes to be a policeman's policeman. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
I think true love is never blind, but rather brings an added light, an inner vision quick to find, the beauties hid from common sight. I don't think Officer Cook, that true love is always blind. As a colleague of yours said, Officer Frank Piloto, Jr. you found yourself a wonderful woman, an inspiration in your life who captured your imagination with her beauty and intelligence. Karen and you shared the happiest of times and we all just wished those moments could have continued. She will never forget you, the love of her life, an excellent and hard working provider. You sacrificed so much for her, your family and all parties concerned. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
Be content with who you are and don't put on airs. God's strong hand is on you; He'll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; He is most careful with you. You lived by God's gospel, Officer Cook and it allowed you to alleviate more stress than you probably had in your job. You were one of God's most decorated and officially superior officers in Dade County, who had the best interests in hand when you served the public. Had you still been working as an officer, there was a good chance of you moving up the ranks, because of your valuable talents and keen intuition, along with plenty of common sense. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Your humbleness was going to make you a good leader one day. You did lead one officer, Reserve Officer Scott Lincoln, your partner the day of your tragic passing.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. The grit and determination you displayed on duty positively allowed you, Officer Cook, to be humble as well as calm in carrying out your assignments. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend an hero.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
When true love comes, that which is counterfeit will be recognized. For someday it will rain on the picnic, ants will sting, mosquitoes will bite, and you will get indigestion from the potato salad. There will be no stars in your eyes, no sunsets on your horizon. Love will be in black and white with no piped-in music. But you will say "forever," because love is a choice you have made. I'm sure most of your family picnics and outings, Officer Cook, were very enjoyable and pleasant indeed. The music was sweet to your ears and the sunsets most compelling to your eyes. I don't know if you and Karen were ever to Key West, Florida, but down at the southern end, at Mallory Square, they have the greatest sunsets in the United States. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, and allow us to pop open a cold drink in your memory and toast a beautiful sunset.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
True love is but a humble, lowborn thing....It is a thing to walk with hand in hand, through the everydayness of this workaday world. You walked with God as do all officers, Officer Cook. let us just say that God is your Divine guide who assists you in your daily endeavors and helps make your job a little less stressful than it all ready is. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, hand in hand with your other comrades who served their profession with distinction and honor as you did.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
When God finds a soul that rests in Him and is not easily moved....to this same soul He gives the joy of His presence. God brought you nourishment and water to drink, Officer Cook, so that your strength would not wane when you served and protected Dade County and its citizens. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, along with your beloved father, Charles in God's eternal refuge as God provides you with His eternal nourishment that never can be depleted.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
The Lord will work out His plans for my life-for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. God laid out your plans Officer Cook, before you were a twinkle in your mother's eye. Those plans were for the most part the best laid plans that brought you to your valued career as a police officer. As you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, you are resting eternally and waiting patiently for God to reunite your family members when the time will come for you all to be together once again, hugging and holding you ever so firmly. I'm sure they cannot wait. For now, you can watch and help guide their successes in life.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge...One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that You, O God, are strong and that you, O Lord, are loving. He sure is. You and Karen, Officer Cook, put your trust and faith in Him to do the right thing for you both. He has a way of putting people in ideal circumstances more often than not. When we lost you, we all cried our hearts out, asking the same questions over and over, why did this happen to such a fine and outstanding man of faith, with an ironclad will to do the right thing? WE asks ourselves why good people leave this world and people who are not that upstanding still in it? One answer is that God has plans for us all and when the time is right He discloses them to us. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
I find rest in God; only He can save me. He is my rock and my salvation. He is my defender; I will not be defeated....I will find rest in God; only He gives me hope....My honor and salvation come from god. He is my mighty rock and my protection. I could not put this saying any clearer Officer Cook. You were entrusted with an awesome responsibility for which you excelled and now as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, you have an even greater task, and that is to watch over those men and women in law enforcement as they do battle with the evil that still leaves an ugliness in society today.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
Love, you know, seeks to make happy rather than to be happy. There are people who are happy go lucky. I would surmise you were a happy person, Officer Cook. You were healthy along with Karen and you both recognized your goals and the values that would lead you both onward in your successful careers. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. These three important traits helped sustain both your marriage to Karen, Officer Cook and your blossoming career. Even in times of peril, we must all try to have these vital means to be able to live and function in today's modern world. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
True love risks itself-risks not being loved for the ultimate good of the loved one. The risks you undertook, Officer Cook, was to place your life on the line daily to make us feel safer, which you did. You were the beloved son, brother, husband, uncle and great-uncle who is so dearly missed today and everyday. The reward for ultimately risking your life is that now as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, you get to be patrolling God's divine streets where future officers train the same way you did and where you watch over them so no harm comes their way.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
Romance is flattering attention. Love is genuine thoughtfulness....Romance is tingling excitement. Love is tenderness, constancy being cherished. We all want to feel cherished and loved. Officer Cook, you were beloved by all people and were cherished in a very special way. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, I'll always think of your courageousness and stellar character that enhanced your performance above and beyond the call of duty.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
Love is not the tingly sensation you feel when you hold someone's hand for the first time. Love isn't the breath-catching feeling you have when you know someone thinks only of you. True, lasting love comes after struggling together through the hard times, remembering the good times and having faith that God will help you over one more hill together. True love is accepting yourself with all your strengths, weaknesses and accepting the other person in the same way. This is what made you marriage to Karen so wonderful, Officer Cook. You both realized your values in society, being a police officer helping and saving others. Karen was a registered nurse helping and saving lives too. The ideals you both faithfully strived for were met and for the time you were married enjoyed each other's company. She misses you, she finally remarried after being your widow for almost thirty years and so does the rest of your loving family. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 20, 2013
Herein is joy, amid the ebb and flow of the passing world; our God remains unmoved and His throne endures forever. God is, was and still remains sole ruler of our universe. God was your protector, Officer Cook and He remains your source of eternal strength. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. The joys of your family and their happiness can be attributed to your joys and successes during your career. We all are proud of you and I can truthfully say this, knowing some of your family members. They will always love and cherish you. They miss you very much and so does this community where you grew up in North Miami Beach, Florida.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 19, 2013
Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you people. For great is His love toward us and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord. We praise the Lord, Officer Cook, for your good name and reverence lives on forever in our hearts. It's a testimony of how much a person can achieve with the proper motivations. when we focus in on what is correct, we can do so much more good than we realize. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero as your beloved soul help us generate the goodness this world deserves.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 19, 2013
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love. Your family give thanks to God every moment for having you here with them to protect and help sustain them. As you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, help continue sustaining them as well as all who need sustenance.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 19, 2013
The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all, He has compassion on all He has made.....The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made. He was and remains loving to you Officer Cook, as well as all your family members. He is protecting you in His shelter with your father, Charles. He has recorded all your good deeds and has given His proper rewards to you and your father. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 19, 2013
The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him. For he understands how weak we are; He knows we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone-as though we had never been here. But the love of the Lord remains forever. You were with us Officer Cook, for twenty-five marvelous years. The physical being returns to the earth where we generate from, but the soul travels to the heavens above as it rests in peace in quiet harmony. Sleep well my neighbor, friend and hero. We miss you and look forward to the day of seeing you again.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
February 19, 2013

