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January 19, 2005

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Robbins was in women's bathroom before struggle
San Jose Mercury News (subscription) - San Jose,CA,USA
... Robbins, who has been diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder and has a history of alcohol and drug problems, attacked the officers and reached for one ...

Electroboy: Fighting Mental Illness (Including Bipolar Disorder ...
Emediawire (press release) - Ferndale,WA,USA
"Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania," published by Random House, is one man's chronicle of his battle with bipolar disorder and his experience with electroshock ...

Qld: Woman spits at police over missing daughter

AAP General News (Australia)

01-18-2005

By Suzanne Klotz

BRISBANE, Jan 18 AAP - A woman received a wholly suspended jail sentence today for
spitting in the faces of police who came to help her find her missing teenage daughter.

Karen Frances McNamara, 40, of Landsborough, in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, pleaded
guilty in the District Court in Brisbane to four counts of serious assault on August 4,
2002.

McNamara, who had recently moved to Landsborough after living most of her life in Roma
in western Queensland, had reported her 15-year-old daughter missing and believed she
was in a car on her way to Sydney to see her boyfriend.

McNamara, who suffers from the psychiatric condition bipolar disorder, was in a drunken
state when two police officers arrived and became agitated while they were talking to
her.

When the officers mentioned that she should ring local welfare agencies to see if they
had heard from her daughter, she spat in both their faces.

After they arrested and handcuffed her, she struggled and again spat in both their faces.

Judge Milton Griffin imposed a four-month jail term but wholly suspended it because
he said he accepted McNamara was distraught about her missing daughter.

He said she had misunderstood the mention of the welfare agencies as to mean that her
child would be taken away from her.

© 2005 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Bullets pierced Robbins' heart, one lung.

The Miami Herald (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service); 1/17/2005

Byline: Casey Woods And Charles Rabin

MIAMI _ An agitated Barret Robbins was hiding in a women's bathroom in a South Beach office building Saturday night when three officers confronted the former pro football player and a struggle erupted, police sources said Monday.

Police said the former Oakland Raider All-Pro offensive guard was coaxed out of the upstairs bathroom and was being escorted to a hallway by plainclothes detectives Mike Muley and Mark Schoenfeld when he saw a uniformed officer and was startled.

Robbins, who has been diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder, attacked the officers and reached for one officer's gun before before Muley fired his weapon, according to police.

One bullet pierced Robbins' heart, the other his lung. Robbins was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he remains in critical condition. His wife, Marisa, flew in from Oakland on Monday to be at her husband's side.

``Mr. Robbins was throwing the three officers around like rag dolls,'' said Fraternal Order of Police lawyer Daniel Lurvey, who represents Muley. ``This was an unfortunate incident, but Muley was incredibly courageous and saved his own life and that of the two other officers.''

Muley was treated for bruises and a concussion at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He has since been released. The two other officers did not suffer serious injuries, police said.

According to police spokesman Robert Hernandez, the officers were responding to a report of a burglary in process at the building that houses the Playwright Irish Pub at 1265 Washington Ave.

The alleged attack by Robbins, 31, was the most recent in a series of tragic events over the past three years that have him far removed from playing football.

Drew Pittman, Robbins' agent, said his client was in critical condition. He would not comment on any of the legal.phpects of the case.

``I'm sure there are a lot of blanks. I can't fill them in for you right now,'' said Pittman. ``As we know things, I'm going to release them. He's been down there in South Florida for the past week or so.''

Robbins has been charged with trespassing and battery on a police officer, though additional charges may be added, Hernandez said.

Why Robbins was in the building at all remains a mystery, police said.

On Monday, five holes in the wall of the hallway and bloodstained carpet marked where the struggle took place. According to building tenants, Robbins struggled even after he was shot.

``After I heard the shots, I could hear him yelling and fighting them,'' said Ernie Ewert, owner of EE Studios. ``They were telling him, `Hold still, don't move.' ''

According to police sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, Robbins entered the structure through the back door of the Playwright Irish Pub, making his way up several flights of stairs to the roof of the building.

From the roof, he entered another section of the building that houses EE Studios, an architecture firm and a ticket broker. The women's bathroom where he was found is housed in that section, located at 1253 Washington Ave.

Robbins was a second-round selection by the Raiders in 1995. More than a year later, he was hospitalized after being found disoriented at a team hotel. He was later diagnosed with his illnesses.

In 2002, Robbins disappeared two nights before Oakland was to play in the Super Bowl. His coach benched him for the game, and he later checked into the Betty Ford Clinic in California. He was cut from the team in July after he tested positive for the use of the steriod THG.

On Christmas Eve, Robbins was charged with drunk and disorderly conduct after arguing with a guard at an upscale San Francisco restaurant.

Robbins is separated from his wife. He has two daughters and calls Oakland his home.

(c) 2005, The Miami Herald.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

Ex-Raider Robbins player shot in Miami.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service); 1/16/2005

Byline: Andrew Ryan

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ When police responded to a call on a glitzy South Beach business strip Saturday night, investigators didn't know they'd find an ex-professional football star whose mental state was so precarious he once disappeared the night before he was supposed to play in the Super Bowl.

Officers say they found a huge burglar, 6-foot-3, 320 pounds, who attacked Detective Mike Muley and may have been reaching for the officer's gun, according to Miami Beach police spokesman Robert Hernandez.

``The officer was literally fighting for his life against this guy,'' Hernandez said.

Muley pulled the trigger at least twice and shot a man who turned out to Barret Robbins, a former pro-bowl center who played for the Oakland Raiders for nine seasons.

Muley hit Robbins ``multiple times'' in the torso, Hernandez said.

Robbins was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital and, after surgery, was listed in critical condition Sunday, Hernandez said. Charges are pending.

Robbins, 31, is a former ballplayer now more famous for his public struggles with bipolar disorder than his prowess on the field.

``It's tragic, and I am saddened by what is going on in his life,'' said Robbins' agent, Drew Pittman, in a telephone interview. ``But it has been a pattern of problems. He is just struggling with his bipolar disorder, and that makes him do things that he doesn't realize he is doing.''

The day before the Raiders lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2003 Super Bowl in San Diego, Robbins was missing. He later publicly acknowledged he had been on an alcohol-fueled binge driven by depression. He entered counseling.

Robbins privately had struggled with his bipolar disease before the Super Bowl, missing the last two games of the 1996 season.

The Raiders kept him on the roster, but after blowing out his knee and testing positive for the steroid THG, the team released him in July.

Since leaving football, Pittman said, Robbins took his medication, stayed healthy, and helped start a recording studio and other businesses in Oakland and Texas.

Recently, however, things deteriorated.

On Christmas Eve, San Francisco police arrested Robbins for punching a bouncer at a nightclub. After being told the bar he was trying to enter was closed, Robbins hit the security guard and was arrested about 7 a.m. for battery and drunk and disorderly conduct, according to news wire reports.

``When these types of behavior come up, it is usually when he is off his medication,'' Pittman said, adding that he had not talked to Robbins for three weeks. ``These types of behavior are consistent with bipolar episodes.''

Pittman said he did not know why Robbins was in South Florida, guessing he was on vacation. Robbins' wife, Marisa, who lives with him in Oakland, Calif., could not be reached for comment.

Police do not know why Robbins was in the 1200 block of Washington Avenue on Saturday night. They got a burglary call just after 8 p.m. and sent uniformed and undercover officers to the scene.

As police searched the business strip, which includes Mansion nightclub, a gym and a jewelry store, Muley found Robbins in a second-floor office area above one of the businesses.

Police are not sure what he was doing.

``He was just there,'' Hernandez said. ``He wasn't supposed to be.''

Muley is a seven-year police veteran who was named officer of the year in the city and county in 2002, Hernandez said. During the struggle, the detective banged the back of his head. He was treated at Mount Sinai Medical Center and released.

Robbins, who wore No. 63 for the Raiders, grew up in Houston and was a standout football player at Texas Christian University before being drafted in 1995.

He has two children, according to the Raiders' Web site.

``It's sad,'' Pittman said. ``It's tragic. He's a good person. He's got an illness.''

(South Florida Sun-Sentinel Staff Researcher Cindy Kent and South Florida Sun-Sentinel Alex Marvez contributed to this report.)

(c) 2005 South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

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