Kentucky Police Honors Fallen Officer By Continuing Christmas Toy Delivery

On Saturday, Louisville Metro Police officer Zachary Cottongim was struck and killed by a car and later died at the hospital from his injuries.

The next day, Cottongim was scheduled to donate Christmas gifts as part of a children outreach program. But to keep Cottongim's legacy alive, his fellow Louisville officers stepped in to deliver the donation on his behalf, according to WLWT 5.

Cottongim and his family were to deliver toys to an autistic child in southern Indiana on Sunday as part of the Angels in Arms program. Angels in Arms is a toy-giving outreach program for children in need that wanted Cottongim's last donation to be a special one.

An officer involved in fulfilling Cottongim's Christmas donation said, "Ladies and gentlemen, let's take a moment of silence for Officer Cottongim, his family and his brothers and sisters in blue at LMPD."

Cottongim died while inspecting an abandoned vehicle that was involved in an accident on Interstate-64. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died after doctors spent 10 hours trying to save his life. He was a member of the Louisville Metro Police Department for seven years, where members of his family were also officers.