Lieutenant Kenneth J. Cotta, (retired), 67, of New Bedford, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016 at home.

Born in New Bedford, the son of the late John and Lydia Cotta, he had resided in Dartmouth for most of his life.

He received an associate's degree in criminal justice from Bristol Community College and a Bachelor of Science degree in law enforcement from Western New England College.

Lt. Cotta had a long, successful career in law enforcement for 30 years, proudly serving his community and the Dartmouth Police Department.

His career encompassed 14 years of combined experience as a Commanding Officer of a Crime Prevention Unit and Shift Commander of several uniformed-divisions, five years as a Task Force Detective for the District Attorney's Office, assignments in Uniform Patrol, Investigations, ID Division, First Response, Traffic Records, Tactics, Planning, Community Policing, Public Relations and intermittently serving as Administration/Acting Chief of Police of the Dartmouth Police Department.

He was involved in numerous organizations most notably serving as President of the Massachusetts Police Association; President of the Dartmouth Police Relief Association and Dartmouth Police Athletic League; Founder of the Dartmouth Police Fishing Rodeo; member of the Knights of Columbus; Rotary Club member; Charter member of the Portuguese Police Officer Association; Cofounder/Charter member of the Dartmouth Police Honor Guard and a member of the Bristol County Task Force. He was the first D.A.R.E officer in Dartmouth and introduced the "Care Bear" program which was adopted as part of the front-line cruiser equipment.

Lt. Cotta was the recipient of numerous awards and commendations including Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, Man of the Year, Dartmouth Police Relief Association Member of the Year, recipient of the Real Heroes Award, Meritorious Award, Award of Commendation, Award of Valor and several Community Service Awards from Dartmouth, New Bedford and Fall River.

Most recently, Lt. Cotta was an instructor for the Criminal Justice Program at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School.

In his leisure time, Lt. Cotta enjoyed spending time outdoors especially fishing and browsing antique car shows.

His family includes a son, Corey Cotta and his wife Patrice; a granddaughter, Tyler Cotta; his former wife Rita A. (Tetreault) Cotta, a sister, Patricia LaFrance and a nephew, Paul LaFrance.

His Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 9 a.m. in the Waring-Sullivan Home of Memorial Tribute at Dartmouth, 230 Russells Mills Rd., Dartmouth followed by burial in Sacred Heart Cemetery.

Visiting hours will be Friday 4 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Dartmouth Police Relief Association, c/o Officer Joseph Vieira/ Fishing Rodeo, 249 Russells Mills Rd., Dartmouth, MA 02748. For online tributes please visit: www.waring-sullivan.com