LAPD officer killed in Afghanistan

LAPD officer Robert J. Cottle KIA 3/24/10

SWAT officer & Sgt. Maj. Robert J. Cottle, USMC, is the first active duty LAPD officer to be killed serving in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Cottle and Lance Cpl. Rick Centanni, 19, both from Yorba Linda, were traveling with other Marines in the Marja region of Afghanistan last month when their armored vehicle struck an improvised explosive device, killing the two men and seriously wounding two others.

Cottle and Centanni

More about a man who was respected by his peers in the Corps and on the force in Los Angeles, here.

Cottle’s sacrifice, and the sacrifice of so many others, both at home and abroad, reminds us again there are good guys and bad guys in the world. The good guys—like Robert Cottle—fight, bleed and die everyday so that average citizens can lead lives of peace and safety. We owe them more than we can ever pay. Donations.

Cottle leaves a wife and nine-month-old daughter. Cottle’s wife Emily is an officer in the U.S. Navy.