Fremont police Capt. Fred Bobbitt was remembered Saturday morning as a man who loved his family, loved his community and could make a friend of anyone he met.
The popular police veteran died unexpectedly on Feb. 21 at the age of 54.
The Harbor Light Church in Fremont was packed for a “Celebration of Life” for Bobbitt. It was preceded by a service Friday night in Tracy, where he lived for more than 30 years.
Lt. Michael Tegner, who started out with Bobbitt in the Fremont Police Department, used one word to describe his colleague and friend: Caring.
“Freddie cared about his family, his work family, victims, people in the community,” Tegner said.
Once years ago Bobbitt heard a student express negative comments about police.
“That didn’t sit well with Freddie,” Tegner said.
So Bobbitt started the Building Bridges Program, where police officers talk to every sixth-grader in the Fremont Unified School District about their jobs and then interact with them on the playground afterward. Bobbitt would invariably shoot hoops with the students, Tegner said. Through the program, Fremont police have talked to about 12,000 sixth-graders over the years.
In memory of his brother, Raymond Bobbitt urged those in attendance to “bring the community and peace officers back together.”
Speaker after speaker described how Bobbitt had a gift to make friends of people he met for the first time.
“Someone last night said he never met a stranger, never,” Raymond Bobbitt said.
To allow Fremont police to attend the services, Hayward police and Alameda County sheriff’s deputies were patrolling Fremont from 10 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Sunday.
Bobbitt was born in Oakland where he attended elementary school and then Hopkins Middle School and Mission San Jose High in Fremont. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Union University and a master’s degree from American Military University. While growing up he was an altar boy at St. Benedict’s Catholic Church and a Boy Scout at Allen Temple Baptist Church.
Bobbitt loved sports, coaching his children’s teams and attending all of their games.
When he was in high school, he convinced his mother to allow him to become an Explorer with the Fremont Police Department, starting a 36-year career with the agency. Bobbitt worked in a variety of positions, including as acting police chief.
Bobbitt is survived by his wife, Annabel; mother; three daughters; three sons; four grandsons; a brother; and a sister. His son, Frederick Michael Bobbitt, is a detective with the Fremont Police Department.
“Annabel was the love of his life,” the service program said, “and he was the happiest in his home life that he had ever been. Freddie’s legacy will forever live on through his family, friends, and countless lives he touched everywhere he went.”
The Fremont Police Association has started the Fred Bobbitt Memorial Fund to provide scholarships and educational help for young people in the community.