Officer Robert Winget died on the morning of April 10, 2007 when he left for patrol from the Ripon Police Department at 11:25 a.m. He was on patrol in south Ripon near the banks of the Stanislaus River in the Ripon River Crossing area on his all-terrain patrol vehicle. At 11:40 a.m. dispatchers received an “undecipherable” transmission from Officer Winget. The Ripon Police Department set up a Mobile Command Center and Fire, City Public Works and citizens participated in the search to attempt to locate Officer Winget. At approximately 1:14 p.m., a Ripon Consolidated Fire District search crew located him unconscious along the river area, west of Highway 99. Immediately C.P.R. was administered and a 4-wheel drive rescue vehicle removed him from the area and was transported by the Ripon Fire District Ambulance to Doctor’s Hospital in Modesto, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 2:27 p.m. from traumatic injuries associated with the crash of his all-terrain vehicle. Winget was a US Marine who served in Viet Nam. His career in law enforcement was thirty-seven years. Officer Winget served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 20 years and the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department for 14 years where he was a longtime Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer. The past three years he served Ripon Police Department patrolling with his narcotic K-9 partner “Topper” in an all-terrain patrol vehicle. Approximately 1,000 uniformed officers from around the state attended the funeral service at First Baptist Church in Modesto. Hundreds of citizens lined the streets of Ripon and Modesto to pay their respects as the funeral procession traveled to Burwood cemetery, where he was laid to rest. Among those paying respects were California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., and a spokesman for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Approximately 20 canine officers and their K9’S attended the service. Officer Bob Winget is survived by his wife of 33 years, Chris; daughters Ashley, 22, Kelley, 19, Bonnie, 16; and son, Edward Amey, 36.
Menu
