Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 6, 1992 TAG: 9201060133
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NEAL THOMPSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ROANOKE POLICE MOURN OFFICER KILLED IN ON-DUTY CRASH
Fellow officers wore a piece of black tape over their badges Sunday in memory of Fred Robinson, a Roanoke police officer who was killed in a car crash early Sunday."Everybody today kind of walked around in a daze," said one officer sitting in his truck smoking a cigarette after his shift Sunday.
The officer, who did not want to be identified, said he had known Robinson for 15 years as the rare kind of officer who looked out for everyone else, not just himself. "That's what being a cop is all about," he said.
In turn, everyone looked up to him, he said. Robinson had become a father figure at the Roanoke Po-lice Department after 20 years on the force. As a firearms instructor, he trained officers both young and old.
But as cautious as he trained officers to be, there are some things from which all the training in the world can't protect a cop.
Driving north on Williamson Road on his way to an emergency call, a car headed in the opposite direction turned in front of him. Robinson's cruiser struck that woman's car and then slammed into a building.
Robinson, 48, was pronounced dead a short time later at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
"Our loss is the public's loss. Big time," Sgt. W.G. Lucas said.
"We live it. We see it every day - death and injuries and so on. But it's different when it happens to someone you know and work with."
Two women in the other car were released from the hospital with minor leg injuries. No charges have been placed, but the accident is still being investigated and will be turned over to the commonwealth's attorney's office.
Robinson becomes the 15th city officer to be killed in the line of duty and the first since David Rickman was shot and killed while responding to a domestic dispute in April 1986. Before that, the last on-duty death was in 1965.
Lt. W.D. Jobe had hoped Rickman was the last cop they'd have to bury, but he came into the office Sunday afternoon to make plans for Robinson's 1 p.m. funeral on Wednesday. Taking time out from the painful chore of choosing pallbearers and officers for the color guard and firing squad, Jobe spoke of the gentle and efficient man he had known for 20 years.
Although Robinson was a gun enthusiast and traveled often to gun shows with two pals on the force, "Fred hated conflict," Jobe said.
Robinson kept a night stick in his patrol car but never carried it when responding to a call. "Fred was a big man, but Fred would use the least amount of force possible to handle a situation. He'd use his head," Jobe said.
And while it would hurt to lose any officer, Jobe said it was especially painful to lose someone with such a strong regard for safety and for doing things the right way.
Robinson split his duties between a midnight patrol shift and the firing range, where he came in contact with every officer on the force.
"You know someone that long, it has an effect on you," said the officer who was sitting in his truck. "It was a freak thing."
The freak thing happened as Robinson sped north in the 3100 block of Williamson, without his blue lights flashing, to respond to a call. Regina Heck, 21, of Kermit Avenue Northeast, was traveling south and turned left into Robinson's path. The cruiser struck Heck's car and then slammed into a roadside building. Robinson's airbag worked, but not well enough.
Robinson was not wearing a seat belt when rescue workers reached the scene. Maj. J.L. Viar said officers are encouraged but not required to wear belts when responding to a call.
Robinson leaves behind a 10-year-old son and an ex-wife. They were divorced but remained close friends and spent holidays and vacations together as a family, said Robinson's mother, Mary Robinson.
Her son's interest in law enforcement began after 18 months in the Army. That prompted his obsession with firearms and led him to the Police Department.
Family friend Kenneth Skelton, who has hunted and fished with Robinson since they were teens, said guns were Robinson's "first love."
"He was a walking set of encyclopedias on them," Skelton said.
Robinson recently bought property in Craig County and planned to build a house and machine shop to work on his guns. That interest in guns, Skelton said, also bred in Robinson a quality of patience and respect that he maintained as a cop: "He was a man of valor. Great valor."
Keywords:
FATALITY