Robert Tyrone Kearse Sr.

Columbus Police Department — Columbus, GA

Veteran → Illness

End of Watch May 11, 2006

Age 39

Tour of Duty 8 mo

The Vigil Panel 154 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Military Department 25

Incident

Police Officer Robert Kearse suffered a fatal asthma attack while en route to an alarm call at 9:00 p.m.

Earlier in the evening, Officer Kearse had responded to a disturbance at a park where he and other officers broke up multiple fights. Immediately afterward, he checked in with dispatch and was winded. While on his way to an alarm call, he called dispatch in distress at 18th Avenue and Wynnton. Officers arrived on the scene and found him unresponsive. Despite life-saving measures, he was unable to be revived.

Officer Kearse was a United States Marine Corps veteran and had served with the Columbus Police Department for eight months.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and two children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-GA-75D1EB4A
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: August 2, 2026
Last updated: August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Marine Corps. One record, 2 gates. Robert is one person.

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Tributes

I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Police Officer Kearse served with the Columbus Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Columbus community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Columbus Police Department

Type Other

Location Columbus, Muscogee County, GA

Platform Identity cpd.muscogee.ga.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 11, 2006

Tour of Duty 8 mo

Age 39

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness

Military Service

Robert Tyrone Kearse Sr. served in the U.S. Marine Corps (1985â1986) before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Police Officer Robert Tyrone Kearse Sr. is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 officers honored here.

In GA, 63 of 904 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 7% of this state's fallen. That is 7 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Columbus Police Department, 1 of 26 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 3.8% of this agency's fallen.

Columbus Police Department

of 26 officers

3.8% Illness

GA — Statewide

of 904 officers

7% Illness

Nationwide

of 97,759 officers

0% Illness