White Center Park was renamed "Steve Cox Memorial Park" last week in honor of fallen King County Sheriff's Deputy Steve Cox.

A veteran deputy who also served the public as a prosecutor in several Washington counties, Cox was shot and killed while questioning a suspect in a White Center home on Dec. 2, 2006.

Cox was a native of White Center and a property owner in the area. He was serving as the elected president of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council at the time of his death.

A memorial committee set up through the North Highline UAC proposed the renaming of White Center Park in Cox's honor.

The ordinance renaming the park, proposed by Councilman Dow Constantine, D-West Seattle, was approved unanimously by the council.

"I asked my colleagues to join me in sponsoring this legislation to express our unanimous support for the community proposal to rename White Center Park in Deputy Cox's memory," said Constantine. "Our common goal is to create a permanent tribute to Steve's work in the North Highline community."

"Committee members considered this to be an especially appropriate tribute to Steve because he played baseball on the White Center Park fields as a Little Leaguer and then a teenager," said Russ Kay, chairman of the Steve Cox Memorial Committee and a former president of the North Highline council.

"Having the neighborhood's largest park bear his name will provide a daily reminder of Steve's contributions to the community as both a sheriff's deputy and a community leader."

In addition to renaming the park, its recent makeover included the creation of a steel column art piece that bears Cox's name.

"This community must not and will not forget the tremendous sacrifice Steve made and in some small way we hope his family will be comforted by our efforts," said Kay.

"Through the Steve Cox Memorial Park, we can pay tribute to his enduring legacy and remember the values he exemplified," declared Councilwoman Julia Patterson.

Councilman Bob Ferguson added, "Steve Cox was a community hero. Like all of our sheriff's deputies, Steve put his life on the line day in and day out to protect the neighborhoods and the people he loved. The park is a fitting tribute not only to Steve's community values but to the values of the communities that produced this great man."

Council Chairman Larry Gossett agreed the action "is a fitting tribute to a man whose focus was on more than just enforcing the law. [It] is a gathering place, somewhere for people to meet and talk to their neighbors ... Officer Cox knew a strong community was the best weapon against crime and he gave his life to ensure that White Center was a better community."