Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Books won't stay banned. They won't burn. ideas won't go to jail. But, evil people who commit heinous crimes against ordinary law abiding citizens and against innocent law enforcement officers, surely need to be tried by the courts, found guilty of their crimes and be locked up at least for the rest of their lives. I read too many incidents, Officer Cook, of your colleagues having their lives snuffed out and the perpetrator is acquitted. This is a very state of affairs. I read of a Philadelphia police officer back in 1872, shot and killed in the line of duty and his killer's punishment, six and a half years in prison. I'll keep reading and reflecting and for your heroism, rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. I don't know when you attended Sabal Palm Elementary School, now renamed for a former principal, Mrs. Gertrude K. Edelman, they had a program in reading called SRA, when I went there. I wonder if Mr. Aldeen Lindgren was the principal when you went there?

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 21, 2013

All books are either dreams or swords, you can cut,or you can drug with words. You preferred to speak politely to folks, Officer cook. This was the most successful method you employed and it sure for the majority of your service never let you down. We know people can be sensitive and that is exactly why people with power, honest men, women so brave have to act in a genuinely truthful and trustworthy manner. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, keep the light brightly burning in God's grand library as His chief librarian.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 21, 2013

Between the Bible, both the New and the Old Testament and novels, there is a gulf fixed which few novel readers are willing to pass. The consciousness of virtue, the dignified pleasure of having performed one's duty, the serene remembrance of a useful life, the hopes of an interest in Our redeemer and the promise of a glorious inheritance in the favor of God are never found in novels. Your life, Officer Cook was certainly a most blessed and rewarded one. So full of passion, the emotional scales of your tragic loss certainly were toppled, but not forever. We can surely upright our ships if we heed the words of Our Creator and respect and treat all people as you would want them to treat you. This was the golden rule that was instilled in you and inbred in your ethnicity and work environment. Officers should never have to be told that this is always expected of them. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 21, 2013

Books tell me so much that they inform me of nothing. Sophistry, the bane of freemen, launches forth in all her deceiving attire! After all, most men reason from passions; and shall such an ignorant individual as I am deciding and announcing this side is right, that side is wrong? Sentiment and feeling are the only guides I know. You probably enjoyed reading, Officer Cook and this is one sure way to stimulate your mind as one grows older. It helps keep you mentally acute. It is noted that books are the quietest and most constant of friends...and the most patient of teachers. This is how you exemplified being a great police officer, patient, confident in a humble way and a teacher and faithful leader for all. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 21, 2013

The destiny of all Americans regardless of race is the destiny of America. Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe. And all Dade County and America has brave officers like yourself, Officer Cook, to thank for steadfastly protecting us and our properties. Your dignity, you rcommitment to duty has afforded us the giant opportunity to persevere in all of our endeavors. If justice was served that day, it was served by Detective Donald Blocker, your friend and colleague who arrived on the scene and killed the young man who took your life away from you and denied your family and all of us from witnessing further greatness and loyalty to all people. You were the hero that day of May 16, 1979 and so were your friends who if not for your courage might not be here as well. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. God has destiny inscribed for each of us, you were always destined for greatness and its true inner meaning among heroes and heroines who laid their lives down for our pursuits of happiness, peace and prosperity.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 20, 2013

Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect and it is shameful to surrender it too soon or to the first comer; there is nobility in preserving it cooly and proudly through a long youth, until at last, in the ripeness of instinct and discretion, it can be safely exchanged for fidelity and happiness. Your young life, Officer Cook, may have been lost by a bullet from a young man who went insane and thought that hurting or ambushing police officers to death would solve the problems we all face each day as we live our lives. It does not of course and only reinforces the hopes and spirits of our great land of which you played a much vitally needed role. We were deprived of seeing a great and humble man carrying on many more good deeds that would only benefit our society. I truly am sorry, I never got the chance to meet you and to break bread with you talking and sharing ideas of how we could together make this world a better place which of course you sir surely and courageously did while dedicating your life to public service. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 20, 2013

God's miracles are to be found in nature itself; the wind, the waves, the wood that becomes a tree-all of these are explained biologically, but behind them is the hand of God. And I believe that this is true of creation itself. God works miracles for every person, place and thing in the world that He Himself with no assistance brought forth in creation. Police officers are devoted public servants, men and women, who take a solemn oath to tackle issues to numerous and complex for everyday ordinary individuals to handle. One must be physicallyand mentally capable, first of all. Working at all times and meteorological conditions, during hurricanes. They must be strong, brave, have dignity and integrity in every bone in their bodies. Basically, Officer Cook, you were a twenty-four seven person. Whatever task you were assigned you carried it out with grace and fairness personified. The people of Dade County will forever remember you for this. A man among men and women. I wonder if Lt. Cheryl Seiden worked out of your Central Division as well as her husband, Detective Sergeant Mark Seiden, who now works on Brickell Avenue as an attorney. I'm pretty certain he knew you, as did another officer, David Graveline, who went on to become a newscaster in Miami at the old WCIX Channel Six, WINZ 940 Radio as well as 610 WIOD Radio. Talk about areal blkast from the past. Perhaps your friend, classmate and colleague, Chief Geoff Jacobs has heard of these gentlemen as well as Lt.Cheryl Seiden. She was killed in the line of duty in July, 1983, she also taught coincidentally at the Visitation Catholic Church where you and your beloved wife, Karen worshipped. If we could only make miracles happen and bring you back with those who loved you and you gave your respect back to them. Everyone cared for you. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. I'll never forget your life, lived so well and your career so well personified.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 20, 2013

Every idea is an incitement. It offers itself for belief and if believed, it is acted on unless some other belief outweighs it, or some failure of energy stifles the movements at its birth. Credulity is not a crime. Every time, every moment you were out on patrol in the streets, Officer Cook, you had to constantly be thinking of how to outwit the evil that would rear its ugliness. All officers have to be optimistic, if they are not only going to thrive, but to survive the rigors that face them daily. To have done this superbly, you deserve all the honor and humbleness that comes your way. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 20, 2013

O beauty, old yet ever new! Eternal voice and inward word. Beauty seen is never lost, God's colors all are fast. Say not of beauty, she is good, or aught but beautiful. Oh, if we could relive the good old days, Officer Cook and have you here with us to witness the transformations within the community you served so well and faithfully thirty-four years ago. We are born believing. Men and women have beliefs as a tree bears its fruit. You wanted to become a police officer since your younger days and nothing was going to detour you nor distract you from reaching your primary goal. Next time we taste something sweet, we can think of you, because everything about you an dyour life was only sweetened with success and success breeds just that. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. No pun intended, but you and Nancy were the apples of your parents eyes.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 20, 2013

Beauty is the virtue of the body, as virtue is the beauty of the soul. Nothing in human life, least of all in religion, is ever right until it is beautiful. It's thought that long habits of virtue have a sensible effect on the countenance. And since there is certainly no absolute standard of beauty, that is precisely what makes its pursuit so interesting. Your body and mind, Officer Cook, worked so well together as one unit this was what made you so accomplished during your career with the Metro-Dade Police Department and when you started out with the Dade County Public Department at Jackson Hospital where I believe you met your beloved wife, Karen. The two of you worked well together within your chosen careers and the dedication you displayed to your citizens and Karen, to her patients was what stood out from all the rest. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 20, 2013

Beauty rests on necessities. The line of beauty is the line of perfect economy. Beauty brings its own fancy price, for all that a man has will he give for his love. You gave your young life, pure and innocent, Officer Cook in policing Dade County streets in the absolute and in the most proper and prudent way. Your regiment included using techniques which are common to most officers, that is to stay, calm, cool and collected and attempt to hear both sides and then try to formulate a plan that will best serve all needs of the community. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 20, 2013

Beauty without grace is the hook without the bait. Beauty, without expression, tires. We never tired looking back on your outstanding police career, Officer Cook, it was the embodiment of exactly how an officer is to compose themselves while diligently serving the public interest. One never tires when fondly remembering a loyal and honest public hero as bold as you were my neighbor, friend and hero. Rest in peace.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 20, 2013

We ascribe beauty to that which is simple; which has no superfluous parts; which is exactly answers to its end; which stands related to all things; which is the mean of many extremes. The secret of ugliness consists not in irregularity, but in being uninteresting. As an avid photographer, Officer Cook, you enjoyed nature and all its beauty. Keep taking those wonderful pictures in God's perfect dominion as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 20, 2013

I'm guessing you were a baseball fan, Officer Cook. Former major league player and Hall of Famer, Reggie Jackson said it best and I'm quoting: "This team, it all flows from me, I've got to keep it going. I'm the straw that stirs the drink." You sir, my neighbor, friend and hero indeed were one of the many fine police officers who labored very hard and were brave enough to carry your Metro-Dade Central Division and department's flag and to wear its uniform with not only a proud manner, but with pride and assurance that matters would be carried out only with the best of intentions. You were one of the finest officers to stir the passions of the other officers to get them to fall in line with your division's policies and regulations. You exuded confidence from within all ranks. Rest in peace.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 19, 2013

A haze on the far horizon, the infinite, tender sky, the ripe, rich tint of the cornfields and the wild geese sailing high,- and all over upland and lowland, the charm of its goldenrod,-some of us call it Autumn and others call it God. Your spirit, Officer Cook, now travels to places even we cannot get to. Far and wide, all four directions, wherever God decides He needs His golden angels to patrol that is where they shall go. Free of suffering and pain, we all here on God's green earth still have a lot to gain. Men and women as brave as you, Officer Cook, now allow others to pursue. The day may rain and shine, because we know everything will be just fine. No more pain or complaint, simply stated, your shining legacy will forever remain. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, with the work you so performed, you left this community much more reformed in its thinking to keep it from sinking. We when blink our eyes, there may come a big surprise, we'll look up and there you are in the corner of God's brightest of nighttime skies.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 19, 2013

Yet one smile more, departing, distant sun! One mellow smile through the soft vapory air, or over the frozen earth, the loud winds run, or snows are sifted over the meadows bare. Each new day brings us hope, but yet there is a great sense of loss and despair over you not being here with us, Officer Cook. Your beloved family knows and prays everyday that that genuinely brilliant smile of yours always shines down on everyone in the most brightest way. When wintertime comes, we all know where to look up in the heavens and constellations that are in God's deep dark skies at night to find your loving spirit as it gazes down upon us. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 19, 2013

People in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism and find criticism subversive. I don't believe people ever thought your way of policing was God forbid dangerous, Officer Cook To the contrary, each officer is different in their efforts to fight crime in the streets they take an oath to serve and to protect. Your calming influence was what it took to solve and to bring about peace and unity in the community where you were very much a most beloved and well respected officer. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 19, 2013

There is no stopping the world's tendency to throw off imposed restraints, the religious authority that is based on the ignorance of the many, the political authority that is based on the knowledge of the few. Officer Cook, all your tendencies were based on basic instincts that were ingrained in you as a young man. They were the makings of a wonderfully talented and self-motivated individual who served his nation and police department, the community you protected with all the honor and integrity that sometimes is lacking from today's officers. You were you division and department's source of information and resourcefulness. This is what made you so certain in leading other officers in their charges against evil. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 19, 2013

With a little knowledge, training and trust in their positions, police officers can take a bad situation and turn it around for a positive result. You did this very well, Officer Cook, you were the right person for the job you carried out with all the proper motivations, techniques and cunning needed to better get a handle on wickedness. As you now rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, you can now freelance and use those skills to help make our future officers more prepared than ever to wage war against evil. Your instincts were always more than from your gut, as it was your maturity that accentuated your success within the Metro-Dade Police Department.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 19, 2013

Artists must be sacrificed to their art. Like bees, they must put their lives into the sting they give. Police officers must sink their entire beings into preserving and protecting their communities. They too must conduct "police stings" from time to time catching and arresting bad people who perpetrate wickedness. I don't know if you performed these so called undercover stings, Officer Cook, but I do know for sure that whatever police activities you undertook, they were all to maintain a balance of truth and justice and to bring peace and unity to the community you patrolled. You sought inspiration in all your endeavors and you were the consummate and ever present, faithful and devoted officer that Dade County will always come to look back on and remember as the legacy you instilled in others. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 19, 2013

To my mind the old masters are not art; their value is in their scarcity. I guess you can say that police officers who patrol the streets are like artists in the sense that the streets and their beats are like the canvas, except one drop of paint is not going to ease any problems. It takes a multifaceted effort from the citizens and one humble and caring officer, Officer William C. Cook, Badge#1664 who gave his every effort and one heroic effort at that. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero and paint the most beautiful works of art on God's golden easels.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 19, 2013

Let it be your pride, therefore, to show all people everywhere not only what good soldiers you are, but also what good people you are, keeping yourselves fit and straight in everything, pure, clean, through and through. Let us set for ourselves a standard so high that it will be a glory to live up to it and then let us live up to it and add a new laurel to the crown of America. It is the upstanding and outstanding work ethic of many superior, honorable and dignified men and women, such as yourself, Officer Cook, whose bravery to duty has paved the future trails of the many officers here and now who face danger in the eye daily and attempt to wipe its hideous scent away from society. As you, Officer Cook and the many other officers who laid down their lives sit in God's heavenly palace, crowned with the glory to recognize and attempt to correct a wrong situation and make it right, we realize all that you gave in the name of peace and unity for all in your cherished communities. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 19, 2013

Physical courage is never in short supply in a fighting army. Moral courage sometimes is. Your physical prowess never ever came in question, Officer Cook. Your morality and ethical mannerisms also never were questioned, you utilized precisely what you were trained for in dealing with the ugliness that sprang up that day just before you were to head back to your headquarters with your partner that day, Reserve Officer Scott Lincoln. You looked out after his well being and were the ultimate hero saving him and your fellow officers and those three civilians. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 18, 2013

A little Latin for heroes and heroines such as yourself, Officer Cook, "ditat deus"-God enriches, "regnat populus"-let the people rule. You were an enriching officer who strived to build the character of your colleagues if they seemed a little downcast. They knew who to reach out to in times of trouble and distress. Your calming style of police work allowed the people you protected to take ownership of their lives and to be more versatile in how they accomplished and accommodated their dreams, goals and aspirations. This is so vital to the success of every person who tries to provide a means for their families. It works the same for every police officer who has to place the citizens above themselves. This is most certainly at the top of their official agendas. You were a great man, a grand and loyal servant of God, one very talented and dedicated officer who paid the dearest price for our pursuits. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 18, 2013

In the elder days of art, builders wrought with greatest care, each minute and unseen part; for the Gods see everywhere. during your distinguished life and career, Officer Cook, the good Lord was with you and Karen each step of your lives together insuring success in the trails that you both paved. Ever since May 16, 1979, when you were suddenly taken from your loved ones while performing your official duties, most of your battles you waged in the Liberty City area of Metropolitan Miami-Dade County and its nearby areas have seen a surge in good things such as buildings for housing for low income residents to reside and for employment to assist these persons to be able to make and to forge a better life for themselves. God's handiwork certainly is there and so is your distinctive police work and the sacrifice you made to better enhance those citizens who I believe would remember you this day and all the excellence you accomplished on a daily basis. You were their hero as well as your division and department's too. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

August 18, 2013