Gates Tells of Anguish Over Robins’ Death

Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates was on his way to his mother-in-law’s home to spend the Christmas holiday when a phone call brought tragic news.

Deputy Darryn Leroy Robins, 30, had been shot in the head by a fellow deputy when an impromptu training session went terribly awry. Robins’ condition looked grim. Gates said he rushed to the officer’s hospital bedside, but was too late.

The sheriff said Tuesday he has been devastated by the deputy’s death and has been able to concentrate on little else during one of the most trying times of his nearly 20 years as sheriff.

“This has been a very traumatic process,” Gates said. “This is something that we have never gone through before. It’s been tremendously traumatic for my department. It has been tremendously traumatic for the family, his wife, their friends.”

Perhaps the hardest part, he said, was notifying Robins’ wife and mother, who were not at home for most of the holiday. Officers were stationed at both homes, and the news was broken to relatives about 9 p.m. Christmas Day.

In the days after the shooting, Gates said, he found himself consoling Robins’ grieving family with frequent calls and visits, worrying about the emotional recovery of Deputy Brian Scanlan--who shot Robins--and trying to help the department grapple with the death of one of its own.

For days after the shooting, the county’s top law enforcement officer refused to address concerns voiced by public officials who questioned how such a tragedy could happen.

“Some people might be able to say we did it right, or that we did it wrong, but we did what we thought we had to do at the time to address the family’s needs and the department’s needs internally,” Gates said.

After the shooting, an Orange County psychologist and a doctor from San Diego were called immediately to counsel Scanlan, Robins’ relatives, grief-stricken deputies and even emergency room nurses who were shaken by Robins’ death.

Scanlan is on paid leave and has been receiving frequent counseling since the shooting, Gates said.

“That process is going as well as we can expect, I’m told,” Gates said. “The healing process will take some time. . . . I don’t know what the future might bring until the doctor gives us his opinion.”

Gates recalled meeting with Robins’ wife, Rosemary, and his 18-month-old daughter, Melissa, in the midst of funeral arrangements on Wednesday. “That was a real tough day because they had to pick coffins, and it was a real tough time for all of us,” said Gates, who helped arrange a 21-gun salute for the funeral on Friday.

Gates said he wanted the service to be impressive, befitting an officer who was well-liked and respected. Gates was the keynote speaker at Robins’ funeral and eulogized the slain deputy as an outgoing, “outstanding” officer who never stopped trying to improve his work.

Before Robins, there had only been five Orange County sheriff’s deputies killed in the line of duty since 1912, the most recent in 1988 when a helicopter accident left one deputy dead.

Sheriff’s Department officials say Scanlan has an exceptional service record, which led to his promotion to training officer. Scanlan has received seven commendations while he was a patrol deputy and additional decorations while he was working in the County Jail.

Gates defended Tuesday his decision to focus on helping those most deeply hurt by the tragedy instead of immediately addressing public concerns.

“It’s the kind of thing where I made the decision at the beginning--and I believe I was correct in what I did--to focus on the family and my internal process at the department to make sure I had everything in place and working there,” he said.

“The healing process--I have been heavily focused on that,” Gates said, adding that it has only been in the last few days that his concern has shifted slightly. “Now I have been able to focus on the department and the other issues we have to deal with.”