Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Ricky Roberts died from complications as the result of contracting COVID-19 in a presumed exposure while on duty.
Officer Roberts had served with the McLennan Community College Police Department for three years and had previously served with the Texas State Technical College Police Department for 15 years.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Police Officer Ricky Neal Roberts died on July 19, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 51.
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, daughter, parents, and siblings.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-088C056B- 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.
Police Officer Roberts gave the McLennan Community College Police Department 18 years.
Thank you for your service to the Waco community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Roberts.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Ricky Neal Roberts 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 TX, 204 of 2,421 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 8.4% of this state's fallen. That is 0.7 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. Ricky Neal Roberts's cause is highlighted.
How Ricky Neal Roberts Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Ricky Neal Roberts is highlighted in Jul.