WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — The family of a fallen Tampa Police Department corporal has their mortgage paid off thanks to a nonprofit organization.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off the mortgage of Corporal Michael Roberts' Wesley Chapel home as part of its Fallen First Responder Program.
Corporal Roberts joined the Tampa Police Department in 1998 and was a member of its K-9 unit. On Aug. 19, 2009, he was shot and killed while confronting a suspect.
“This house has protected us from five close calls from hurricanes and many tropical storms," Cindy Roberts, the fallen corporal's wife, said in a statement. "It was our first home as newlyweds and where we brought our baby home a few years later. I am eternally grateful to Tunnel to Towers for paying off my home so my son and I can relax knowing that it is our home to keep.”
Corporal Roberts also served in the U.S. Army Reserve and spent nine months in Bosnia, then later transferred to the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
The foundation's Fallen First Responder Program pays mortgages for families of law enforcement and firefighters who were either killed in the line of duty, died from 9/11-related illnesses and have young children left behind. Roberts has one son.
Tunnel to Towers also pays off mortgages for Gold Star families.
