Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant Larry Cottingham suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after disarming a suicidal woman.
Sergeant Cottingham had responded to the scene, calmed and disarmed the woman, and then escorted her to the local emergency room.
Shortly after returning to the station, Sergeant Cottingham started to feel ill and called a fellow deputy who lived nearby to ask for assistance. The deputy responded to the station and immediately transported Sergeant Cottingham to the hospital. Doctors determined that he was too weak to undergo surgery. He remained in intensive care until passing away two days later.
Sergeant Cottingham was a US Army veteran of the Korean War. He had served with the Henderson County Sheriff's Office for 25 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, three sons, two sisters, and two grandchildren.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-KY-8CE8D46E- 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
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Sergeant Cottingham gave the Henderson County Sheriff's Office 25 years.
Thank you for your service to the Henderson community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Larry Dale Cottingham served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Sergeant Larry Dale Cottingham 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 KY, 44 of 983 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 4.5% of this state's fallen. That is 0.5 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At Henderson County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Larry Dale Cottingham's cause is highlighted.
How Larry Dale Cottingham Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Larry Dale Cottingham is highlighted in Jan.
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Henderson County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
