The Bell County Sheriff's Office is mourning the loss of a 27-year veteran.
Sergeant Robert L. Pettigrew passed away on April 27, 2020.
He graduated from the Central Texas College Police Academy in 1992. He started his law enforcement career as a peace officer at the Bertram Police Department. He then began his career with the Bell County Sheriff’s Office as a jailer in 1993.
In 1993 and 1994, Sgt. Pettigrew served as a reserve officer at the Copperas Cove Police Department. In August 1994, he was hired on as a peace officer with the Bell County Sheriff’s Office and rose to the ranks of sergeant where he served a total of 27 years with the department.
Sgt. Pettigrew served on Honor Guard for many years. He was the sheriff's office's bag pipe player and often played in his full kilt uniform for many services of fallen officers.
In a statement, the Bell County Sheriff's Office said Sergeant Pettigrew will be truly missed by the whole department. He was dedicated to the department, although, when he mentioned his grandkids his face just lit up. He put his family and faith first.
His brother in blue, Daryl Coleman, gave this condolence:
I have a loss for words today after hearing of the loss of a man I have known for 27 years. We were in the same jail Academy together and we were talking about retiring at the same time. He has been a friend to me all these years even after we moved on to different divisions at the Sheriff's Department. Bell County losses a good man today. Robert Pettigrew was a man of many hats within the Sheriff's Department and a knowledgeable one at that. But the one thing he did the best was to be my friend. He always talked about his grandbabies. He loved talking to me about them. He always gave praise to his wife and was very proud of his daughters. But most of all my friend was also a Godly man who loved the LORD. He would talk to me about his mission trips when he came back.
