The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office is mourning the loss of a 22-year veteran law enforcement officer. Deputy Kraig Conger, 51, suffered a heart attack while on duty on Dec. 28 and died.

He is survived by his wife Leslie, and two children.

Conger joined the sheriff’s office in 2000 after graduating from Colorado State University.

An avid basketball player, the 6-foot-10 Cogner was known in the department as a “gentle giant,” according to both Sgt. Steve O’Brien and Cpt. Scott Luedtke. Others will remember his kind personality and an ability to remember everyone he met.

“He had a mind like a steel trap,” O’Brien said. “I mean he couldn’t write a report to save his ass, but he remembered everything.

Cogner’s career started at the Arapahoe County Detention Facility. Both O’Brien and Luedtke worked on and off with Cogner since 2000. O’Brien was his supervisor for the last four-and-a-half years.

In 2013, he began working in the department’s newly formed Arapahoe Diverts Mentally Ill to Treatment (ADMIT) program, where he worked until his death.

Cogner’s work in the ADMIT program was complemented greatly by that reliable memory, coworkers said: He remembered every client he worked with in the program. Cogner’s passion for mental health and sensitivity for it will be greatly missed.

“[He’d] connect with anybody with a problem that he could connect with, and not be a cop,” O’Brien said. “The presence he left with all those hundreds of clients that went through the program is just immeasurable.”

As a tall man, Cogner played collegiate basketball at the University of Southern California and CSU. Before that, he played for Wasson High School in Colorado Springs.

His passion for the game continued on during his time at the sheriff’s office and he played on the department’s team during the police versus fire teams basketball tournament held at Ball Arena (then known as The Pepsi Center).

The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office team would ultimately fall to the Denver Police Department in the finals.

“During that tournament, we were giving him a hard time because all he wanted to do was shoot 3-pointers,” Lt. Rob Hedrick said. “And throughout that entire tournament I don’t think he missed a single one, which was crazy impressive.”

His love for sports extended to his family as well, who Cogner would always talk about, O’Brien said. Both children play sports and have “a future in sports.”

Cogner was active as a youth athletics coach, where he taught children about the rules of the sports and acted as a mentor.

In 2003, Cogner was awarded the Russ Oberlin Respect for Law award by the Littleton Optimist Club for his commitment to community and service to the department.

Throughout his career, Conger exemplified service to community, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office.

A fund has been set up to help the Conger family with living expenses. Details on Conger’s funeral have not been made public.