Photo: Glen Ridge Police Department
Alice Roberts detailed in an essay published onNJ.comhow her police officer husband,Charles “Rob” Roberts, died of COVID-19 in May 2020 after many of his colleagues at the Glen Ridge Police Departmentcontractedthe disease.
“My husband Rob was a highly respected community police officer and caught COVID-19 on the job,” Roberts, a mom of three, wrote in her essay. “He collapsed in our house when his heart stopped. The kids and I heard the thud.”
In a previous essay for thewebsite, Roberts said her husband eventually recovered from COVID-19 in the hospital, but his brain was too far damaged from a lack of oxygen. He was taken off life support the day after Mother’s Day.
Glen Ridge Police Department
With her son’s 12 birthday approaching, Roberts said he asked for one thing to receive that day — a vaccine against the virus that led to the death of his father.
“All he has asked for his birthday is a COVID-19 vaccine,” Roberts wrote.
Next month, Charles' name will be added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. Thewall is dedicated to law enforcement officerswho have died in the line of duty and was first dedicated in October 1991.
“I think attending is important to help bring closure to my children and myself, and I know my husband would be so proud that his name is on the wall,” Robertssaid.
According to theOfficer Down Memorial Page, COVID-19 is the number one killer of law enforcement officers in both 2020 and 2021 so far. The page features a list of more than 400 officers who are said to have died of the virus.
RELATED VIDEO: FDA Grants Full Approval to Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine
“By sharing my family’s experience, I hope my husband’s death and our story can help persuade others to do the most patriotic and selfless thing I can think of doing: Get a COVID-19 vaccine!” Roberts said on thewebsite.
“That’s what my son will be doing this Sunday to celebrate his 12th birthday,” she added. “It will be one he won’t forget.”
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
