FREMONT — While Fremont police officers attend funeral services over a 32-hour period this weekend, Hayward cops working overtime and reassigned Alameda County sheriff’s deputies will be patrolling the streets in their stead.
From 10 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Sunday, Fremont officers who would normally be working will be given paid time while attending funeral services for Capt. Fred Bobbitt. The 32-year Fremont police veteran died unexpectedly Feb. 21, according to the department. He was 54.
Some of the services are being held in Fremont and some in Tracy, where Bobbitt lived the past three decades.
Bobbitt was a longtime police leader with deep ties to Fremont and other law enforcement agencies, and his services are expected to draw many people, Fremont spokesperson Geneva Bosques said Friday.
“For police funerals, this is extremely common,” Bosques said of police agencies covering for each other. “But we haven’t had anything this large in a really long time,” she said.
Bosques said a 32-hour window was established because the multiple funeral services overlap with several police shifts from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning, including some swing shifts and midnight shifts.
“It’s really to ensure that nobody is working with a lack of sleep, that everybody is in good shape,” she said.
Hayward, which typically serves as a backup dispatch center for Fremont, is handling most of the Fremont dispatching duties as well as providing officers, according to Bosques.
Hayward was sending officers who volunteered to cover the Fremont shifts on overtime, said Hayward police spokeswoman Cassondra Fovel.
“Officers that are already scheduled to work (in Hayward) would continue to work their normal shift,” she said.
Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern said Friday his agency was reassigning 23 deputies to help cover Fremont, including some who already patrol unincorporated areas of the county near Fremont’s borders and some who might normally work at a desk.
Ahern said it’s possible that some deputies may be called in to work overtime to help backfill.
“We’re allowing the Fremont officers time to grieve. It’s a very emotional and stressful job being out on patrol, and we want to make sure that they can have the opportunity to grieve, and not feel like they’re missing out on an opportunity to show their condolences to the family and to the agency,” he said.
“We want to try to alleviate some of that pressure and assist the Fremont Police Department so they can show respect to a fine man who is gone too soon,” Ahern said.
The sheriff’s office will absorb the cost of the assignment, Ahern said. It’s part of the county’s mutual aid agreement with police agencies, often used during disasters or major events that require a large police response.
“You provide as many services to a city or county in need at the time, because you never know when you’re going to be the one in need of those services, and it happens quite frequently,” he said.
Sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Ray Kelly said the amount to be paid would be “minimal,” though he didn’t provide an estimate.
“It’s really small in comparison to the welfare of the people that you’re looking out for and trying to care for. I don’t think you can put a price on the human side of this,” Kelly said.
Any Fremont officers being paid while attending the services because they would normally be working then are expected to be “duty ready” for emergencies, Bosques said.
In addition to those scheduled to work, some Fremont police are being paid because they’re part of the funeral, including officers assigned to the “honor guard,” as well as motorcycle officers driving in the procession, Bosques said.
Newark and Union City police officers were also assisting Fremont with road closures for the procession, Bosques said.
A Time of Remembrance Service will be held at Fry Memorial in Tracy for Bobbitt from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, and a Celebration of Life Service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Harbor Light Church in Fremont. Both services will also be live-streamed. For more information, go to https://fremontpolice.gov/CaptainBobbitt.