Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief of Police Mick Cook was killed in a single-vehicle crash while escorting an ambulance on an emergency call. He was traveling on Wisconsin 56, three-quarters of a mile west of Viola. Chief Cook was transported to La Crosse Lutheran Hospital where he succumbed to his head injuries. Chief Cook had served with the Viola Police Department for one month and also served with the Vernon County Sheriff's Department.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two stepdaughters, parents, a brother, and three sisters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-WI-D9C4D4D8- 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 never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Chief of Police Cook served with the Viola Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Viola community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Cook.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief of Police Michael G. Cook is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In WI, 124 of 317 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Michael G. Cook's cause is highlighted.
How Michael G. Cook Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Michael G. Cook is highlighted in Nov.