“When I first came on the job, you guided me, you mentored me, and I want to thank you for your 34 years of service,” said Chief Schubert. “You may have a hell of a punch—but you have a much bigger heart. Thank you.”
White’s current supervisor in Narcotics and Vice, Sgt. Nathaniel Hawthorne, was one of many who said White was such a good detective because he was a good person who took the time to know people, what they did, where they shopped, played, ate, etc.
“When I want to know what’s going on, I ask Rob because he knows everybody,” said Hawthorne. “He got tips from everybody. We came on the job together back in ’83 and he always wrote everything down—so I made him do all the paperwork. But he always had my back and made sure we always got home.”
Bickerstaff said the same thing.
“I knew him before I came on the job from jogging in Highland Park—yeah, he knew everybody,” she said. “He’s exceptional at community engagement. I remember working undercover with him one time, and I’m looking around—and he’s out talking to everybody.”
Retired Allegheny County Homicide Detective Jimmy Cvetic, who has been using boxing as a means to reach at-risk kids for more than 20 years, said White was one of his biggest helpers and supporters.
“I’ve known him since he was 15 years old. He climbed into that ring 70 times (as an amateur) and he was a champion,” said Cvetic. “I’m glad he climbed out. He made the right choice—and he’s still a champion.”
White thanked everyone for their kind words, and for their support and sympathy at the recent death of his father.
“Thank you, I never expected any of this,” White said. “You know, he got me into this. I didn’t think when he handed me that application, that was my last fight. I thought I would train while I was doing this job. Sometimes people can see things for you that you don’t. He did. He was my champ.”
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