| September
14, 2005 |
| |
| Sheriff's
Office Says Good-bye to One of Their Own |
| ...Officer Dies of Apparent
Heart Attack |
| |
Photo courtesy of News Herald |
There will be
125 saddened hearts at the Burke County Sheriff's Office tomorrow, as one of
their own died Wednesday afternoon, apparently suffering a fatal heart attack
while participating in mandatory firearms qualifications.
Bobby Lee Cox
(left), 66, of 102 Ed Mull Street, Glen Alpine
became ill while on the Sheriff's Office firing range, and later became
unresponsive as he sat inside a vehicle attempting to recover. |
|
| Officers with Broughton Hospital and the
Sheriff's Office, who were also participating in the exercise, attempted to
revive Cox and preform CPR. According to one officer assisting Cox, they were
able to restore his breathing, but Cox died shortly after arriving at Grace
Hospital by Burke County EMS. |
| |
| "We have lost a member of our law enforcement
family," said Burke County Sheriff John T. McDevitt, who was at the hospital
with Cox's family. "You never heard anyone, including prisoners, say a bad word
about Bobby Cox. Nor would you hear Bobby bad-mouth others." |
| |
| Cox was born and raised in Mitchell County,
where he attended Harris High School in Spruce Pine. He graduated from Western
Piedmont Community College in 1984 with an associate's degree in Police
Science. He worked as a security officer and special policeman for Broughton
Hospital and Western Carolina Center in the 1970's and 80's. |
| |
| Bobby began his career with the Sheriff's Office
in March, 1997 as a jailer. He remained with the department until 2001, when he
resigned after stating his desire to spend more time with his family, and
travel across the country with his wife. |
| |
| Those goals accomplished, Cox returned to the
Sheriff's Office only 5 1/2 weeks ago, as a reserve officer assisting with jail
duties. |
| |
| A host of officers and emergency personnel
gathered at Grace Hospital Wednesday afternoon after learning of Cox's sudden
illness, including deputies with the Catawba County Sheriff's Office, where
Bobby's son, Brian is an officer. Several were moved to tears upon hearing
of his death. |
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| "Bobby was one of those gifted guys you could
meet and speak with for ten minutes, but you felt like you had known him for
twenty years," stated McDevitt. |
| |
| "I've lost a true friend." |
| |
| Funeral services for Cox are incomplete and will
be announced on Thursday. His survivors include his wife Carole and three sons,
Robert, Rodney, and Brian. |
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| ************************************************************** |
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