Roll of Honor
Incident
Master Jail Officer Robert Sunukjian died after contracting COVID-19 during an outbreak among staff and inmates at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail.
Officer Sunukjian had served with the Hampton Roads Regional Jail for 16 years.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Master Jail Officer Robert Charles Sunukjian died on September 24, 2020 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 48.
He is one of 884 officers honored here.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and parents.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-VA-8E0DC86D- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Master Jail Officer Sunukjian gave the Hampton Roads Regional Jail 16 years.
Thank you for your service to the Portsmouth community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Master Jail Officer Sunukjian.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Master Jail Officer Robert Charles Sunukjian is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In VA, 23 of 654 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 3.5% of this state's fallen. That is 5.6 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Robert Charles Sunukjian's cause is highlighted.
How Robert Charles Sunukjian Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Robert Charles Sunukjian is highlighted in Sep.