Walter G. Cottle

Seattle Police Department — Seattle, WA

Veteran → Felonious

End of Watch September 29, 1930

Age 41

Tour of Duty 9 yrs

The Vigil Panel 60 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Military Department 59

Incident

Police Officer Walter Cottle was shot and killed at the intersection of 12th Avenue and E Alder Street while walking his beat. He had noticed a suspicious person walking around the area. When Officer Cottle stopped him and asked him if he lived in the neighborhood, the suspect produced a handgun and fatally shot Officer Cottle in the face. It is believed that the suspect also fatally shot Police Officer Gene Perry on September 19, 1930. The suspect was shot and killed by officers in Oakland, California on November 30, 1930. He was wanted for a $56,000 train robbery in Nobel, California. His weapon of choice was a rifle, and Seattle detectives later learned that the shooter had been seen in Seattle around the time of Officer Perry's shooting. The Postal Inspector in San Francisco had the shooter's rifle. Several rounds were fired through the rifle and those shell casings and the casings collected at the scene of Officer Perry's shooting were sent to a ballistics expert in Portland, Oregon. The results of ballistics tests were announced on May 1, 1932, that all of the shell casings had been fired and ejected from the shooter's rifle. Officer Cottle was a U.S. Navy veteran of WWI and had served with the Seattle Police Department for nine years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and two children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-WA-F978D3CE
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: August 2, 2026
Last updated: August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Navy. One record, 2 gates. Walter is one person.

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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.
Police Officer Cottle gave the Seattle Police Department 9 years.
Thank you for your service to the Seattle community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Seattle Police Department

Type Police Department

Location Seattle, King County, WA

Platform Identity seatpd.king.wa.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 29, 1930

Tour of Duty 9 yrs

Age 41

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Gun

Military Service

Walter G. Cottle served in the U.S. Navy before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Police Officer Walter G. Cottle is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 officers honored here.

In WA, 187 of 340 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 55% of this state's fallen. That is 55 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Seattle Police Department, 44 of 60 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 73.3% of this agency's fallen.

Seattle Police Department

of 60 officers

73.3% Felonious

WA — Statewide

187

of 340 officers

55% Felonious

Nationwide

of 97,759 officers

0% Felonious