Community mourns the loss of David Corr, father of fallen New Hartford officer Joseph Corr

The New Hartford community is mourning the loss of former police officer David Corr.

The 72-year-old New Hartford resident, who died Thursday according to law enforcement, served as an officer with the New Hartford police in the 1970s. His son, the late Joseph D. Corr, followed in his steps as a New Hartford police officer, but was shot and killed in 2006 while pursuing a jewelry store robbery suspect in the town of Kirkland.

In the wake of his son's death, Corr became an advocate for families who had lost someone in the line of duty, a statement from the New Hartford Police Department said.

"As our department suffered the loss of a member, it was Dave and his family that gave us the strength to carry on our commitment to serve and protect our community," the statement said.

A report Saturday from the town of Inlet Police Department determined Corr's cause of death to be a heart attack while canoeing near his camp in Inlet.

"The Town of Inlet Police Department has always considered David Corr a close friend to our agency," the report concluded. "Our agency sends its sincerest condolences to the family."

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Other law enforcement agencies mourned the loss of Corr. A statement from the Oneida County Sheriff's Office described his support of law enforcement.

"Since their own tragedy in 2006, you could always count on Dave and his family to be at every event and supporting our local law enforcement community," a statement from the Utica Police Department said.

"We lost a good friend," the statement from New Hartford police concluded.

H. Rose Schneider covers public safety, breaking and trending news for the Observer-Dispatch. Email Rose at hschneider@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: New Hartford, law enforcement community mourn loss of David Corr