ThinBlueNews Memorial Wall • 50th Anniversary
Sheriff William Donald Cobb
Hart County Sheriff's Department, Kentucky
End of Watch: Friday, August 20, 1976
HART COUNTY, Ky. — ThinBlueNews remembers Sheriff William Donald Cobb on the 50th anniversary of his End of Watch, August 20, 1976. This is an anniversary remembrance, not a report of a new death.
The approved Officer Down Memorial Page record identifies Cobb as sheriff of the Hart County Sheriff's Department and records his age as 33. ODMP says Sheriff Cobb died in an automobile crash during a vehicle pursuit. This remembrance keeps that account concise and omits graphic detail.
Service to Hart County
ODMP preserves Sheriff Cobb's elected law-enforcement role, Hart County agency, Kentucky jurisdiction and End of Watch date. The approved record does not state a length of service, so ThinBlueNews does not infer one.
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial locator recorded with his memorial places Sheriff Cobb's name on panel 26-E, line 12. ODMP publicly records that he was survived by his wife and son; this remembrance includes only that limited family context.
Remembered 50 years later
The 50th anniversary is one of ThinBlueNews' established milestone-remembrance dates. Half a century after his End of Watch, Sheriff Cobb's service remains part of Hart County's law-enforcement history.
Fifty years after his End of Watch, Sheriff William Donald Cobb is remembered for his service to Hart County and for the family, colleagues and community who continue to carry his memory.
End of Watch
Sheriff William Donald Cobb
Hart County Sheriff's Department
Munfordville, Kentucky
End of Watch: Friday, August 20, 1976
Age: 33
Sources and visual note
- ODMP: August 20 line-of-duty death history
- ODMP: Sheriff William Donald Cobb
- National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund: fallen-officer memorial search
Visual note: ThinBlueNews created an original typography memorial because no portrait with documented publication-level reuse authority was established for this run. No synthetic likeness, representative incident image, badge, seal or invented uniform detail was used.
If family, colleagues or agency representatives see anything that should be corrected or updated, please contact ThinBlueNews through our corrections and editorial standards page.