Officer of the Year earns award with harrowing work

Cpl. Robert Roberts, also known as 'Ditto' to co-workers, insists that he has a dark cloud following him.

[Laura Troxa]

I'm writing in regard to your article dated March 29,2007 titled " Officer of the Year earns award with harrowing work" It is about all the wonderful work Officer Robert Roberts has done for the Contra Costa Sheriffs Department. I think it was in very poor taste that the supposedly clean shooting of Stephen Vidovich is still being brought up six years later. I also think it is in very poor taste that Roberts is protrayed as the victim; suffering a heart attack from all the stress. What about the family who lost their son over this unneccessary shooting? And because of all their stress and grief the father of Stephen Vidovich is very ill.

I think it is time to ask the Sheriffs department how they hired Roberts in 1995 when he had a restraining order for domestic violence and was ordered not to have a weapon. The restraining order was dated 10/15/1993 and didn't expire until 7/12/1996. Just look in the Contra Costa Superior Court records; Case FLMSD93-03046. This case is a clear indication that there is a dark side to Roberts or the judge would not have ordered he not carry a weapon. So, how clean was this shooting of Stephen Vidovich? Not clean at all!!!!!

[anonymous]

Ms. Troxa,
Get your facts straight before you decide to slander someone. The woman who had the restraining order against Mr. Roberts was convicted of stalking Mr. Robert's then girlfriend in 1994.

Stephen Vidovich made a poor decision when he decided to aim his gun at a police officer during a routine car stop. I am sorry for the loss of the Vidovich family, but had one of those armor-piercing bullets penetrated Officer Robert's partner's vest, there would have been two families suffering instead of one.

[Laura Latt]

Dear Anonymous:
I read the court case file and I suggest you do the same. I have the legal facts straight out of the court file on Mr. Roberts. The final judgment ordered by the judge was for Mr. Robert not to carry a weapon. The court case file makes for some very interesting reading. After reading it, among other material, a reasonable person would have to ask themselves if what really happened that night was completely truthful.

[iswilmaalive]

Laura Latt wrote:

Dear Anonymous:
I read the court case file and I suggest you do the same. I have the legal facts straight out of the court file on Mr. Roberts. The final judgment ordered by the judge was for Mr. Robert not to carry a weapon. The court case file makes for some very interesting reading. After reading it, among other material, a reasonable person would have to ask themselves if what really happened that night was completely truthful.

it is quite legal and would be appropriate to publish this case for all to see. I haven't seen it, you have, please do all a favor and share it with us. That would settle at least that part of the argument.(for the rational people anyway)

[Laura Latt]

The court file has many documents. In order to get an overview you can go to the Contra Costa Superior Court website at http:cc-courts.org/. Go to Open Access, go to Martinez Court, under name type in Robert Roberts and it will give you the case with an overview of its history. In order to really understand what happened you can go to the Superior Court Records Unit at 1111 Ward St., Martinez, Ca. and request the file. It is public information. If any one is truly interested in seeking the truth they need to review those records for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Wow, the Coroner's Inquest found the facts to be true.......as Officer Roberts stated. In addition, anyone can get a restarining order against anyone else. My neice got one against her husband.....while he was in Iraq and had been for over a year.....and he never did anything to her by her own admission. The Sheriff's Dept would never hire anyone who had a legitimate reason to have a restraining order against them, so the reason behind the restraining order was obviously not legitimate. My guess is that she knew he was going to be hired and wanting to%^$# with him.

[Tired of the cover-ups]

Isn't this the same Sheriff's office that also has that murdering Officer Ian Jones that killed an INNOCENT, Unarmed man after he was in an auto accident & stumbled from his vehicle...Of course the county is standing up for these guys, & they would never hire these loose cannons...yeah right! So terribly sorry for the pain Mr. Vidovich's family will endure for the rest of their lives...You shall be kept in prayer...As will Jim Brennan's family where he ran a business in Oakley for many yrs., And a confused, adored 3 year old daughter including his soul mate, her mother, where he lived in Concord for the past 4+yrs. These uninformed posts are very hurtful to the grieving familes...Thanks Laura for some facts.

[Mrs Roberts]

I am married to Sgt. Roberts and consider Ian Jones family. I can tell you that I am more familiar with all the facts including the restraining order case than anyone posting on this website. These men put their lives on the line every day and are honest, loving, family oriented men. The choices they made in a split second were not easy. They did not have the luxury of contemplating all the different scenarios and outcomes. In these situations training insticts take over and they do what they were trained to do, protect themselves and the lives of the innocent. I feel for the families involved. The pain of losing a loved one is something that never heals. It sickens me however, that our men are badgered, accused, and criticized for the choices they had to make. Had my husband or my dear friend returned home in a casket rather than his dirty uniform, I believe those same people would have criticized their "lack of training" instead. What hurts the most is that all of you people out posting these hurtful comments don't realize that my husband or my friend Ian would both proudly protect you with their own lives without question for your beliefs or opinions.
As for the restraining order case against my husband, I know ALL the facts. This woman became insanely jealous when he started dating me and lost interest in her. I believe she was 19 or 20 years old when it all began. She tortured us for over 2 years and was finally convicted of stalking me in 1994. The restraining order was one of her tactics, among many others.

[Mrs Roberts]

In addition, regarding the Brennan case. I am sorry for their loss. However, his own family informed the police afterwards that he was indeed on his way to get a gun and return to the bar to kill the people he was in a confrontation with. Officer Jones' actions prevented this. This information, if not already public, will be in time. Had Brennan returned to the bar to kill these people, I can guess who would've been first to say, "Where were the police when you needed them?"

[Mrs Roberts]

It is public information that Mr. Brennan's own family informed the police that he was on his way to get his gun that night and shoot to people he had been involved in a confrontation with. Officer Jones' actions prevented the possible loss of many lives that night.

[Arkona]

"mur·der (mûr'dər) Pronunciation Key
n.- The unlawful killing of one human by another, especially with premeditated malice."

Note the keywords *unlawful* and *premeditated*. Yes, it's a shame that Mr.Brennan and Mr.Vidovich made the poor decision to do what they did, and force the hand of officer's who pledged their lives to protect others.

It's a crying shame that the Brennan and Vidovich family didn't raise their children to grow up to be more responsible human beings. I'm sorry their poor decisions lead to their demise.

Bless the Roberts' and Jones' family - and every other officer who foregoes the comfort of their own homes and family's to deal with people like this, every day.

Perhaps Ms.Troxa would be singing a different tune if her own son/daughter were a police officer and faced with these types of decisions.

I hope people like Ms.Troxa (or any other ungrateful, undermining, uninformed, all-presuming, self-righteous, know-it-all) never find themselves on the wrong side of a barrel wielded by some drunk, or mentally ill, or coked-out, or poor decision making S.O.B..

But hey, if officers like Roberts and Jones can't get there soon enough to save your ass, like anyone else's (including their own), the least they can do is pull the sheet over your face.

Good luck in life, ya ignorant ass.

[Friend of Sgt Roberts]

What does it take to earn the "Officer of the Year Award"? Many were nominated and only one was chosen. It is very sad that you Mrs. Laura Latt & Laura Troxa have little or no respect for the work that our fine police officers do to protect our cities. Sgt Roberts deserved this honorary award due to his work ethics, extreme commitment & dedication to the police department, and how he examplifies what an officer should be. Sgt. Roberts unselfishly shares his knowledge to teach elementary schools about law enforcement and the work that he does. Performing noble service to aid the community is well worth noting. He is an inspiration to other officers and is a natural leader. As Mrs. Roberts explains, making split second decisions are not easy. It takes constant years of training for these men and women to protect themselves and the people involved. Unfortunately, there are situations where their lives and lives of others are at stake. Your ignorance and some hatred towards Sgt Roberts seems to be personal. I feel sorry for you. Hope you get help and maybe do a ride along with an officer to know what they deal with on a day to day basis. May God bless you.

[Arkona]

Friend of Sgt.Roberts

I don't feel one bit sorry for people like Troxa or Latt who are going to sit in their warm homes, on their couch, eating their Haagen-Dazs, watching Oprah Winfrey and The View, all the while, second-guessing for one minute the life and death decision that any officer has to make when they pull that trigger.

"Tired of Coverups" - Unarmed man?? Howabout intoxicated man, who was involved in a multi car hit and run accident who then turned, attacked and tried to take the officer's weapon? Any time an officer gets into a fight, a gun is involved (the officer's, if you couldn't figure that out on your own). Studies have shown that if a person tries to go for an officer's gun, it's not to take it and run...it's to kill that officer. Would you expect the officer to not fight for his/her life?

I'm sorry the 3yr old is growing up without a "father." That's a shame, but the bigger shame is that "father's" poor decision to do what he did. He's a grown adult who made a bad decision and it's a shame his family has to live with it.

Live by the sword, die by it

[anonymous]

Its sad that Latt talks about seeking the truth. If she spent so much of her time looking into this case she should have noticed a few more things. First the person that signed this restraining order was not a judge as she stated, it was a court commissioner. Second it appears the COMMISSIONER made the order a mutual restraining order. Looking deeper the woman who made the signed statement in the order was convicted of STALKING and as part of her probation a REAL JUDGE ordered her to stay away from Roberts. Latt only likes to give part of the story for people to see. How bout we look a little deeper and see the toxicology reports from the night of the shooting. It appears that Roberts' system was clean, can we say the same for Mr. Vidovich? I agree the Vidovich family has been through far too much pain. It was not them that made that choice that night, it was their son. Latt should think about the Vidovich family before making more comments. It would be a shame if the real truth was put out for the entire public to read ie criminal history, toxicology reports and the settlement information. Latt its time to stop slandering Roberts.

[Anonymous]

Ms. Latt and Ms. Troxa,

Both of you have stated you have all the facts of these cases and have an informed opinion about what happened. You seem to be leaving a lot of facts out of your comments. Both of you want to focus on a restraining order which can be obtained without any factual information or proof that what you are saying is true. Fact - Vidovich was a drug dealer who was paranoid of being ripped off on a drug deal so he was carrying a gun. He had enough Methamphetamine in his system to overdose most people and pointed a gun at Police. You make him out to be a victim but all those choices were his not the Officer's involved in the incident. Fact - Brennan was highly intoxicated and attacked an Officer trying to take his gun. It is a shame that both of their family's have to deal with the aftermath of these incidents. However, those were decisions both of these men made and that got them where they are. Based on the opinions of you two, you would probably defend the actions of a murder, rapist or child molester, who got shot during the commission of those crimes. It goes to show what kind of people you really are.

[Justice]

"tired of the cover ups". How can you say Mr. Brennan was INNOCENT? You are an idiot. Sadly Mr. Brennan had serious mental and substance abuse issues. Lets talk for a minute about what he did the day of the shooting. He was involved in multiple altercations at three seperate locations. In the last altercation he left the location and was going to get a gun. He was then going to return to the bar and shoot the people there. He struck an INNOCENT citizen at a high rate of speed, while he was rushing to a residence to get that gun. He then attacked an armed police officer. One could only assume that he wanted to get the officer's gun so he could return to the bar and kill as many people as he could. This does not sound like an INNOCENT man to me. Get your facts straight. By the way Mr. Brennan's family gave this information to the police. Let Mr. Brennan rest in peace, he paid for his mistake already. Everytime someone like you attempts to slander an officer for doing his job good people will respond and provide the facts. Sadly this only hurts the family of the people that were killed. Think about that before you write your next comment. But if you don't care I have many more facts that I can write about.

[Karen]

I find it unbelieveable what all of you are saying. None of you know anything of what really happened that night. I've heard all the evidence. I've stared into the eyes of the two people who shot 23 times that Monday night the 27th of August at 11:40 p.m. I know what really happened. I feel sorry for all of you who think you know these people. It's funny how God is watching over all of us. Why did Roberts have his heart attack? What else will happen to him? He talks about the cloud? What really is the cloud, and have you seen the silver lining?

[Alco 11-99]

Since you looked into the eyes of the officers maybe you can share what you saw? I would hope no officer ever wants to have to shoot anyone. But they sometimes are put in a situation where they have no choice. You point a gun at a police officer and you give that officer no choice. Many officers medically retire after a fatal shooting because of the stress of having to take a life. It's not because they did anything wrong it's because they don't want to have to do it again. Officer Roberts is still working and according to reports has been involved in several instances where he has saved lives. God does appear to be watching! Family members that have something like this happen will never believe anything the police or witnesses say. Nobody wants to think that their family member is so high on Meth that they would pull a gun and try and shoot a cop. It's too bad this did not go to trial, it would have been nice to hear all the evidence and let a jury make verdict.

[GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT]

The restraining order against Bob Roberts was issued MUCH prior to his now wifes claims of her order, so if you check the records you would know that Officer Roberts threatened the parents of this woman with violence, and his now wife even stalked their house pretending to have a gun and threatened to kill this woman BEFORE Mrs. Roberts, than the girlfriend filed for a TRO. The woman resided out of CA, and had to return to CA to go to court to defend against the TRO from the request for order by Mrs. Roberts. The woman chose not to return and allow it to proceed rather than allow Officer Roberts and the now Mrs. Roberts again attack her or her family yet again!!!! Mr. Roberts had to find employment with the Sheriff due to the fact local PD would not hire him. Notice the womans family although they had a ACTUAL lawsuit against the Department for issuing him a weapon CHOSE to go on with their lives!!! The order was requested by the ENTIRE family NOT just the young woman involved and all they wanted was for Robert Roberts to never come near them again or terrorize their family, and the order of protection which had bais and was legal allowed them to keep him away and feel safe once again. Look into his background he raped a football player in high school with Clayton Valley teammates. he had a record long before the domestic violence issue with this young woman, whom by the way was under 110 pounds and he is 260 pounds.

[GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT]

Another fact turns out the young womans father whom endorsed the request against Robert Roberts and whom testified in court that day has himself nearly 30 years service in law enforcement. turns out he was head of the MP's for the Army, taught Criminology and Sociology Masters courses for USF as well as courses at LMC where Mr. Roberts attended classes himself. The family never intended to harm Mr. Roberts future, and that was not the reason THE FAMILY requested the order of protection. The family merely wanted him to stay away from the young lady and the family he terrorized with his rants and outbursts at their home and in public. The womans didn't end the relationship due to Mrs. Roberts, the family insisted Roberts was too dangerous and too controlling and insisted the woman stay clear of him. After being told this Mr. Roberts attempted to kick in the families front door. Her family does feel officer Roberts could still do a good job on patrol with the assistance of anger management therapy as he always expressed a desire to help the public, they just wanted him away from themselves and the young woman and he would not listen to their request for him to cease and desist which is WHY they went to court in the first place, he was jealous and jilted NOT the other way around!!!By the way it has often been known his now wife had to undergo anger management therapy as well, and I hear she is currently on mental health drugs to keep her "calm". It was messy!! The facts are there was an issue that was private between Mr. Roberts and this womans family, that should not be dragged into this at all. The family NEVER went against his employment with any law enforcement agency, that wasn't their intention, merely they wanted him to stay clear of their entire family. There have not been issues between these families since 1993, time to drop the past and let it go. Both families have moved on with their lives and although the family does not desire involvement with Mr. Roberts they also do no wish him ill will, and anytime an officer goes on patrol they need to be thanked, it is a very dangerous career and we can not second guess what someone else was thinking in that situation unless we ourselves were in his shoes. As for Robert Roberts poor health he used enhancement "drugs" as a teen and in his twenties to bulk up for football, especially after his accident and extended bedrest, they were not used malisciously, but to build up strength post injury. These steroids often remain in the body for years after expose and weaken ones heart, that plus stress could do serious damage. I'm sure the womans family does not now nor would they ever wish him pain as they are VERY loving, kind, generous, solidly religious family that has for years and years given to the less fortunate within the community. By the way the womans family and the Roberts grew up attending the same church, knowing the smae people and did tried very hard to utilize the Pastor services to resolve the ENTIRE situation prior to turning to the court system.