The White Center community was shattered by the news of King County Sheriff's Deputy Steve Cox early Saturday morning because White Center was more than a workplace for the 46-year-old attorney turned cop.

White Center was his hometown neighborhood.

The sidewalk in front of the White Center Police and Community Service Center looked like a flower market after people learned of the shooting death of Cox.

While many White Center residents took bouquets to the 16th Avenue office, words of praise and condolence came from elected King County officials as well as community activists.

According to the Sheriff's Office, Cox and other deputies were dispatched at 1:42 a.m. Saturday to a house on 12th Avenue Southwest near Southwest 106th Street following reports of gunfire and assault.

Apparently a man who'd been drinking had driven a pickup into a parked car on 12th Avenue. The damaged car belonged to a party guest at a nearby house. A fracas with other partygoers erupted and the driver of the pickup was beaten and shot in the head, although his wound wasn't life threatening, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Cox and four other deputies arrived to investigate. They entered the house and were interviewing the 12 to 15 people who'd been attending the party. Cox was talking to the party goers one at a time in a bedroom of the home when the other deputies heard a single gunshot. More gunfire erupted from the bedroom and at least one deputy fired back.

Deputies rushed the bedroom and found Deputy Cox had been shot in the head. Deputies rushed to the bedroom and traded gunfire with the suspect. Sheriff's officials announced Tuesday, an autopsy showed the suspect killed himself with a bullet to the head during the exchange of shots. Cox was rushed to Harborview Medical Center where he died at about 6 a.m.

An autopsy Sunday indicated Cox was shot twice in the head.

Deputies jailed two men and two women for investigation of the assault on the man who crashed his truck into the parked car. They were booked into jail the day of the shooting for investigation of assault, evidence tampering, threats and obstructing police officers.

The community was in mourning for the revered Cox.

Lee Lim worked frequently with Cox in his job as an intervention specialist and Asian community liaison in White Center for the King County Sheriff's Office. He talked of Cox's passion for community service and his popularity among White Center's Asian business owners.

"They not only know him, they speak highly of him," Lim said. "They say we need more police like Steve Cox."

North Highline Fire Chief Russ Pritchard worked alongside Cox at the scene of numerous emergencies.

"He was one of the most coolheaded people," Pritchard said. "He was always levelheaded, matter-of-fact and very professional."

Cox often tried to calm disputes by talking with suspects before resorting to handcuffs, Pritchard said.

"He never let his emotions get away from him," he said. "He was never excitable. He didn't let his emotions take over."

Cox graduated from college and went to law school. He became an attorney and worked as a prosecutor for three counties in Washington, including King County. Then he chucked it all and trained to become a police officer.

With the vertical posture and forthright bearing of a Marine Corps drill instructor, Cox often was the only person in the room wearing a uniform. But he understood the power of his position and knew when to leave his uniform in the closet.

At the time of his death, Cox was president of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, the only publicly elected body in the White Center-Boulevard Park area. The 13-member council acts as the official liaison between North Highline, which is not part of any city, and King County government. Appropriately Cox was nearly always in civilian wear then, unless he hadn't had time to change clothes after work.

Under Cox's leadership, much of the council's work this year has been focused on the area's future governance. The council has weighed the pros and cons of becoming part of Seattle compared to being annexed by Burien. Cox supported joining Burien.

Cox also worked behind the scenes to convince more people of different ethnicities to run for seats on the North Highline Council.

"He talked a lot about how to get more diversity on the council," said Pritchard, who is a past president of the Unincorporated Area Council.

Heidi Johnson, vice president of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, will now take over as president.

"He (Cox) had a sense he was on a mission to bring the community together," Johnson said. "His No. 1 goal was for the community to be united. He was a person who liked to see people get along."

Johnson quoted one of Cox's sayings.

"'We're all here for the same reason,'" Johnson said. "He said that all the time."

Praise for Deputy Cox also came from top King County officials.

"This is a terrible loss to the Sheriff's Office, and an especially painful loss to the community," said Sheriff Sue Rahr. "Steve epitomized the concept of community policing and giving back to the residents where you work. He cannot be replaced."

King County Councilmember Dow Constantine, who represents White Center, also lauded Cox.

"He grew up in White Center, then returned to contribute to his community as both a respected law enforcement officer and an active citizen leader," Constantine wrote.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.