Roll of Honor
Incident
Trooper Merle Cook, Corporal Cleo Tomlinson, and Trooper Robert Pruitt were killed in an airplane accident while searching for two breaking-and-entering suspects in St. John's County. The suspects were charged with three counts of homicide in connection with the deaths of all three troopers. The primary burglary suspect was convicted of burglary and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released only to be sentenced to 6 years for cocaine sale in October of 2010, and he currently resides in the Florida State Prison System. Trooper Cook had served with the Florida Highway Patrol for 10 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his four sons, parents, and two nephews.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FL-D4C98E59- 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.
Trooper Cook gave the Florida Highway Patrol 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Florida. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Cook.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Trooper Merle J. 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 FL, 313 of 1,008 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.1% of this state's fallen. That is 0.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Florida Highway Patrol, 25 of 54 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 46.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Merle J. Cook's cause is highlighted.
How Merle J. Cook Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Merle J. Cook is highlighted in Jul.
Others Who Wore This Badge
53 officers from Florida Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
