LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Family members and Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers held a memorial service on Monday for fallen LMPD Officer Zach Cottongim.
Two years ago, Cottongim went to check on a car, abandoned on the side of I-64, when a driver hit the 29-year-old. First responders rushed him to UofL Hospital, but it was too late.
Cottongim is missed by his wife Jamie and their two boys. His fellow officers said it was a top priority of theirs to make sure the three of them were taken care of after his passing.
"It's important that we as a family remember him and his sacrifice," Maj. Shannon Lauder, LMPD first division commander, said. It's important to his wife and his kids that they understand that even though life goes on that we don't forget Zach and we still think about him all the time."
Cottongim spent seven years on the force and is described as both the funniest person in a room, and kindest – the type of person to go out of his way for anyone, expecting nothing in return.
And, that legacy will live on, Lauder said in a 2022 interview with WHAS11, referencing her fellow colleagues’ pledge to one another “to be like Zach” everyday.”
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