Fletcher, OK – Former Comanche County District Attorney’s Office Investigator Timothy Cole died in the line of duty on Aug. 4, after suffering complications from gunshot wounds he sustained while serving a warrant in 2007.

Investigator Cole, 61, was assigned to the Comanche County Drug Task Force when he assisted Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs officers as they attempted to serve a high-risk warrant at approximately 6:40 a.m. on June 18, 2007, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.

The team converged on the Lawton apartment of suspected methamphetamine dealer Darren Howell and was attempting to breach the doorway when Howell opened fire from the other side, NewsOK reported.

The gunfight that ensued left a bullet lodged in Investigator Cole’s spine, rendering him a paraplegic, and ending his law enforcement career.

Howell, 43, was killed during the firefight, and a second officer was shot in the hand and sustained a shrapnel injury to his face.

Although Investigator Cole survived his injuries, he was forced to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

“Everything is a struggle. There is not an easy way to do things,” Investigator Cole admitted to NewsOK in 2010. “I have a lot of pain. The doctors say it is nerve pain.”

Despite his life-altering injury, Investigator Cole forged ahead with the help of his wife, Lisa, and their three children, according to his obituary.

“Tim Cole is an inspiration to many of us,” Lawton Narcotic Bureau Agent in Charge Jerry Walls told NewsOK in 2010. “He is a wonderful person. He is living with it every day instead of feeling sorry for himself.”

In the years that followed, the investigator’s health continued to deteriorate as a result of his wounds, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.

Investigator Cole is also survived by his parents, three siblings, and eight grandchildren.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Comanche County District Attorney’s Office Investigator Timothy Cole, both blood and blue. Thank you for your service.

Rest easy, hero. We’ll hold the line from here.