Town Mourns Death of N.J. Police Officer who Dreamed of Being Cop
Deptford NJ May 8 2023
Bobby Shisler’s dream was to be a Deptford cop, a colleague recalled.
He was a local kid who loved playing baseball, graduated from the township high school and set his sights on a career in law enforcement, said Deptford Police Detective Sgt. Bob Jones.
“Bobby was a Deptford kid his entire life,” Jones said. “He came up through the school system here. He graduated from Deptford High School.
“His dream was to become a Deptford police officer and we were able to hire him four years ago and since that time he was just a stellar officer.”
The promising career of 27-year-old Officer Robert Shisler — badge number 5273 — was cut short by a bullet in March. He remained hospitalized until Sunday, when he died of his injuries at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Shisler was on duty when he stopped pedestrian Mitchell Negron Jr., 24, of Deptford, shortly after 12:30 p.m. on March 10 on Delsea Drive, according to the state Attorney General’s office, which is investigating the incident.
Negron began running and Shisler chased after him before both men were shot during a struggle on Doman Avenue, authorities said.
Negron was pronounced dead at the scene, while Shisler suffered a leg wound.
The Attorney General’s Office has not disclosed details of the shooting or said why the pedestrian was stopped. Negron had a revolver in his possession, according to an investigation document obtained in response to an Open Public Records Act request.
A neighbor who spotted the officer after he was shot on Doman Avenue applied pressure to the wound until Jones arrived at the scene and applied a tourniquet to slow the blood loss, a source previously said.
A group of officers rushed Shisler to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, where he underwent multiple surgeries for what officials described as a life-threatening injury.
He was later transferred to the Philadelphia hospital for additional treatment, but died Sunday.
A procession of police officers accompanied Shisler’s body from the hospital to the medical examiner’s office. Across the river in Deptford, a few hundred community members gathered at the police station to light candles, hug and shed tears for the fallen officer.
In his four years on the Deptford force, Shisler demonstrated the qualities of an officer who would rise through the ranks, according to Jones.
“Although he was a young guy, he was a leader. He was obviously somebody that you could see having a very bright future, going very high and very far within the profession and within the department specifically,” Jones said.
He recalled Shisler as an easygoing guy with a great sense of humor and a focus on keeping fit.
“You would never find him without a smile,” Jones said. “Really enjoyed exercising and working out. He enjoyed body building. He loved baseball. He played baseball throughout his younger years and throughout high school.”
Shisler’s younger brother, Tyler, is an also an officer with the Deptford Police Department, transferring to the agency from Camden Metro earlier this year, Jones said.
Jones has been amazed and moved by the outpouring of support, both in the form of fundraisers to support Shisler’s family and the organic expressions of support from the community, including the gathering Sunday night at the station.
There’s no template for how to handle this kind of loss, Jones said.
“We pretty much have guidelines and policies set forth for almost everything we do,” he observed. “They’re just no playbook for this. And for the community in general to show up with us last night. It was unbelievable. We appreciate them so very much.”
He singled out Nichole Rodgers, wife of another Deptford officer, for her work leading the support group made up of Deptford police family members. They provided meals and other help for officers and the Shisler family over the last two months, and ran a fundraiser that has collected around $140,000 for the family.
In a post on the group’s Support DTPD Facebook page Monday morning, the volunteers expressed their appreciation and sense of loss.
“We’ll never be able to thank the community enough for having Bobby’s back and offering prayers every single day,” the post stated. “At this time we are grieving. We’re grieving for Bobby, for his family, for our department and for our own officers and family members. No one deserves this, and it hurts our hearts deeply.”
Various businesses joined in to help raise funds. Supporters bought T-shirts, yard signs and other gear emblazoned with the “Shisler Strong” slogan and purchased blue lightbulbs as another show of solidarity.
Funeral service details had not been announced as of Monday morning.
Though Jones is a veteran cop, he said Shisler’s loss affected him deeply.
“I’ve been a police officer for 20 years. I’ve taken part in my share of critical incidents. I’ve been part of very serious, very complex investigations, but this is by far the deepest personal hit I’ve ever taken in my professional career,” he said. “To see Officer Shisler that day was just unimaginable. It’s not something I’ll ever forget.”
Through it all, Jones has been moved by the heroism of his fellow officers who raced to get Shisler to the hospital May 10 and the staffs at two hospitals who put their all into trying to save his life.
“This wasn’t the ending we were hoping for but now we have a duty to make sure we keep this young man’s spirit alive,” Jones said.
