Young Police Constable dies at friend’s home

A split second or the twinkle of an eye is all it takes for your whole world to be changed forever, and today the family of late Police Constable Gary Robertson is experiencing just that.{{more}}

Robertson, 36, a policeman for the last 16 years, passed away last Saturday morning while at a friend’s home.

The family is not alone in its grief, but also the entire Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force.

When SEARCHLIGHT contacted wife Hayden at her home in Layou, her voice broke. The distraught wife said that she misses her husband very much and is still trying to come to grips with the loss.

On that morning before the book closed on his life, Hayden recalled him saying that he was going “out the road for a while.” That was the last time she would see her husband alive.

A post mortem examination revealed that Robertson died from aspiration pneumonitis, which is defined as “acute lung injury after the inhalation of regurgitated gastric contents” (vomit getting into his lungs).

Drawing strength from recalling fond memories of her husband, Robertson said that he always went the extra mile to do things for her and their two kids: Garret, four and five month old Grace.

“Even though he had to work on a Sunday, he would get up and cook for us before he left. That’s just the kind of man my husband was,” Robertson stated.

Describing him as a loving father who always made time for his children, Robertson recounted painfully the last night he shared with his family. “I usually read Garret a story before bed, and that night Gary was reading to him and Garret was saying, Mommy come read this story, Daddy not reading it right,” she laughed.

Long time friend and co-worker Station Sergeant Trevor Bailey expressed his feelings about the sudden death of his close friend. “We grew up in Belair together and had some wonderful times,” he related.

If it was one thing that Bailey said he could tell anyone about Robertson is that, “He was a man with a passion for solving crime and I will always remember him for that.”

Robertson was last attached to the Criminal Investigations Department at the Calliaqua Police Station.

A church service for Robertson will be held on Monday at the Kingstown Methodist Church and burial will be in Layou.

During his tenure in the force he worked in the Special Services Unit, at the Barrouallie, Chateaubelair, Union Island and Bequia Police Stations.