Officer Robert Wirht #1596

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1945 - 1988 Age 43

We Honor the Sacrifice He Made

On September 8, 1988, Officer Wirht was assigned to the Traffic Enforcement Unit as a motor officer. At approximately 2000 hours, Officer Wirht was conducting radar enforcement on San Felipe Road and Fowler Road. Officer Wirht detected a car traveling north on San Felipe Road at an excessive speed and decided to take enforcement action.

Moments earlier, another officer conducted a vehicle stop just north of Officer Wirht’s position. As traffic approached the scene of the first car stop, drivers began to slow in order to pass safely. Unfortunately, a driver traveling in the number two lane did not observe the traffic slowing and in a last minute attempt to avoid a rear-end collision, the driver veered into the number one lane. Officer Wirht attempted to stop, but his motorcycle collided with her vehicle.

As a result of the collision, Officer Wirht suffered severe head trauma and was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after.

Officer Wirht was the seventh San Jose Police Officer killed in the line of duty.