0:28
Jamie Cottongim said that her late husband had been \"so excited\" for their eldest son to start elementary school, saying it was something he talked about often.
In the days leading up to the milestone, Jamie Cottongim said she struggled emotionally because she knew how much her late husband would want to be there for the moment.
With that in mind, a group of officers' wives rallied to make sure a police presence was there in Zach Cottongim's absence, according to Officer Donna Morgan, who was his partner on the police force for over two years.
\"We as a squad just literally were there to bring that idea to fruition,\" Morgan told \"GMA,\" adding that Zach Cottongim was known in the police force for being \"the glue\" that held everyone together.
\"The friendships and camaraderie amongst the squad were extremely important to Zach, and so it's been important to us as a squad to be present for special moments in order to carry on his legacy,\" Morgan said. \"We really want to ensure his sons always know how much he loved them, and that if he were here, he would be the one that was present for these moments.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/Zachary-Cottongim-ht-gmh-230802_1691006794240_hpEmbed_1x1_384.jpg\")
Jamie Cottongim described the police as \"family\" to her and her sons, and said Morgan was like a sister to her late husband.
Zach Cottongim was a member of the Louisville Metro Police Department for his entire career, serving just over seven years before his death.
\"He was extremely passionate about it and he was just such a light and just wanted to help everyone,\" Jamie Cottongim said. \"He was the true definition of what it is to put that badge on and to serve others.\"
","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Living/police-line-sidewalk-fallen-officers-son-1st-day/story?id=101962743","legacySlug":"/living/story/police-line-sidewalk-fallen-officers-son-1st-day-101962743","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"21:39","publishDate":"08-02-2023","updatedTime":"22:24","updatedDate":"08-02-2023","socialImage":{"alt":"Louisville Metro Police Department officers lined the sidewalk Tuesday to welcome Riley Cottongim, the son of a fallen police officer, on his first day of kindergarten.","credit":"LMPD","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/riley-cottongim-main-ht-jt-230802_1691006651329_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"8/2/2023 21:39:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":101962743,"headline":"Cops escort fallen officer's son to 1st school day","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_Police officers line up for boy's first school day_230802","description":"Riley Cottongim was greeted with high fives on his first day of kindergarten.","duration":"0:28","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2023/08/230802_gma_digital_police_kindergarten_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["97770618","91344925","57527458"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"April 23, 2023","headline":"Police applaud wife and newborn of slain officer during hospital sendoff","section":"family","slug":"/family/story/police-line-applaud-wife-newborn-slain-officer-hospital-97770618","id":97770618,"image":{"alt":"Police applaud wife and newborn of slain officer during hospital sendoff","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/police-applaud-mother-newborn-main-ht-jt-230310_1678470489586_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Bristol Connecticut Police Department","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"November 10, 2022","headline":"Nonprofit works to improve community-police relations with grocery boxes","section":"living","slug":"/living/story/nonprofit-works-improve-community-police-relations-grocery-boxes-91344925","id":91344925,"image":{"alt":"Nonprofit works to improve community-police relations with grocery boxes","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/Gregs-Groceries-1-ht-gmh-221011_1665522975510_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Courtesy of Kassy Alia Ray","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"September 3, 2018","headline":"Police escort son of fallen officer to 1st day of kindergarten","section":"family","slug":"/family/story/police-escort-son-fallen-officer-1st-day-kindergarten-57527458","id":57527458,"image":{"alt":"Police escort son of fallen officer to 1st day of kindergarten","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/school-1-ht-er-180831_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Pomona Police Department ","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Cops escort fallen officer's son to 1st school day","description":"Riley Cottongim was greeted with high fives on his first day of kindergarten.","duration":"0:28","uploadDate":"08-02-2023","publication":"08-02-2023","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2023/08/230802_gma_digital_police_kindergarten_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2023/08/230802_gma_digital_police_kindergarten_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/police-line-sidewalk-fallen-officers-son-1st-day-101962743"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133358298","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133350119","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307515","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307527","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133282665","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133220149","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133179167","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144373","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144059","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133143081","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133075455","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133063114","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133063086","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133015093","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132998564","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132998072","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:living:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"living","title":"Cops escort fallen officer's son to 1st school day","pubTime":"17:39","pubDate":"08-02-2023","modTime":"18:24","modDate":"08-02-2023","taxonomyTags":"none","id":101962743,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Cops escort fallen officer's son to 1st school day","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_Police officers line up for boy's first school day_230802","videoId":101962743,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/living/story/police-line-sidewalk-fallen-officers-son-1st-day-101962743"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/101962743","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/101962743","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};