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Friend of officer facing murder charge: ‘He did the right thing’

Posted at 11:08 PM, Feb 06, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-07 13:46:49-05

RICHMOND, Va. – Colleagues of the Richmond police officer indicted this week for murder are speaking out in his defense and have organized a rally for next week.

A Chesterfield County grand jury indicted David Cobb for second-degree murder stemming the deadly shooting of 18-year-old Paterson Brown at a car wash in October of 2015.

The nine-year veteran officer was granted a $25,000 bond Friday, with the condition that he will have supervised leave and can’t possess a firearm. He remains unpaid administrative leave from the RPD.

As news of the charges spread, there has been an overwhelming amount of support from Cobb's friends and law enforcement family.

Rick Smith, who has known been friends with Cobb for 12 years, said he and the management at the Richmond Recycling Center are planning to help the officer pay for his legal fees.

Rick Smith

Rick Smith

"He's a very good man. He really is,” Smith said."I think he did the right thing. I would do the same thing if it happened to me.”

Smith said Cobb spent five years keeping the crew at the Richmond Recycling Center on the Southside safe.

"He was working off-duty as head of security at the scrapyard because we've been robbed down there,” Smith explained.

Smith said his friend looked out for the community as a school resource officer at John Marshal High School.

"There's so many bad people out here in the world,” Smith said.

Additionally, the groupRichmond United For Law Enforcementare planning a show of support rally at Chesterfield General District Court where Cobb is scheduled to appear on Feb. 25 .

And while fundraisers are being set up to help pay for Cobb's legal expenses, friends like Smith said prayers from the community will mean a lot, too.

"He's a big friend of mine. Love you Cobb. Love you man. We're with you,” Smith said.

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