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Indiana Officer honored a decade after death

528 views · Published 30 January 2015 · 2:39 · Indexed 21 September 2026

Channel: LOCAL 12 · 2015 · News & Politics

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. (Deborah Dixon) -- Ten years ago, patches of black ice dotted the country roads around Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

Thats how Detective Tom Cochran lost control of his cruiser on his way to help someone trying to commit suicide.

When the patrol car spun out, he was thrown out of the car, and died a decade ago on Monday.

Usually friends, family and officers who knew Cochran meet at his grave, but Monday was different.

They gathered outside the Lawrenceburg Police Station for the dedication in Cochrans honor, from the city and his police family.

Widow JoNee Cochran thanked all who met along a lane where Tom Cochran drove each day to get to the police station.

Not a day goes by we dont miss him, said JoNee. To see him being remembered means the world to our family.

JoNee wept as a cloth was pulled from the new street sign in Lawrenceburg, now named Tom Cochran Lane.

He was funny, he was our hero, and influential, said Toms daughter Tomya Cochran-Metcalf. He enjoyed mentoring younger officers. So many are in police work because of him.

That includes both Toms sons. Josh Cochran is a K-9 Handler with the Jefferson County Sheriffs Department in Madison, Indiana.

What he did was leave you with a sense of pride, said josh. Every day I get up proud to put on the uniform and go to work.

Troy Cochran will pass the sign with his fathers name on it every time he pulls into the Lawrenceburg Police Department where he works.

He said the number of people who showed up for the unveiling of the sign shows his character, and how much he was committed to serving the community.

Every case he handled he put his heart into it, said Troy. That shows today.

Troy brought his two young sons to the unveiling. They never met their grandfather.

Troy says now he can bring them to Tom Cochran Lane and share stories of his father, known for his investigative skills, his character and his heart.

Follow Deborah Dixon on Twitter @crimestopperdeb, and LIKE her on Facebook.

Indiana Officer honored a decade after death

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