Holly MatkinBaton Rouge, LA – Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DOC) Probation and Parole Agent Kaitlin Cowley died in the line of duty on Monday following a single-vehicle crash.
Agent Cowley, 30, had spent the day assisting the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women with inmate security duties at the Our Lady of the Lake Hospital, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
As she neared the Interstate 12 and Millerville Road interchange at approximately 6:30 p.m. after leaving the hospital, her vehicle left the roadway and slammed into a tree.
Agent Cowley suffered fatal injuries as a result of the crash.
“Kaitlin was one of a kind, with a tough Jersey Girl exterior when needed, but a loving and kind hearted inner core,” her aunt, Carol Cowley, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. “My heart breaks for her devoted husband David, her parents Jim and Karen, and her brother James. We’re all trying to make sense of this tragedy and extreme loss.”
Agent Cowley worked in the juvenile justice field in New Jersey before she joined the Louisiana DOC in 2017, The Advocate reported.
She graduated from the DOC academy in December of 2017, and was stationed in Baton Rouge, the agency said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
During an interview after the ceremony, Agent Cowley said that she chose to go into the corrections field because she wanted to help keep people from reoffending, WVLA reported.
“The rest of the world has pretty much thrown away, locked up and forgotten about them,” she told the news outlet. “We need to take them and show them a way to transition back into society to make them productive members.”
“[Agent Cowley] was an asset to P&P, but most importantly, she was a great person who will be sorely missed,” the DOC said. “Please keep her husband, parents, family and friends in your prayers.”
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections Probation and Parole Agent Kaitlin Cowley, both blood and blue. Thank you for your service.
Rest easy, hero. We’ll hold the line from here.