Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Bobby Cox suffered a fatal heart attack while conducting firearms training at the department's range.
Deputy Cox had served with the Burke County Sheriff's Department for 31 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NC-5D54AD0C- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
31 years. You could have gone home.
Deputy Sheriff Cox gave the Burke County Sheriff's Office 31 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Morganton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Cox.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Bobby Lee Cox is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NC, 33 of 664 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 5% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At Burke County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 4 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 25% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Bobby Lee Cox's cause is highlighted.
How Bobby Lee Cox Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Bobby Lee Cox is highlighted in Sep.
Others Who Wore This Badge
3 officers from Burke County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
