Off-Duty Officer Dies

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Aug 14, 2008 5:15PM

An off-duty Chicago Police officer involved in an early Wednesday morning shooting has died from injuries sustained in the shooting. Robert Soto, 49, and a 23-year veteran of the force, was pronounced dead at 3:05 a.m. this morning at Mount Sinai Hospital. Soto is the second CPD officer killed this year. Kathryn Romberg (pictured right), 45, was also killed in the shooting, having been pronounced dead at the scene.

According to police spokeswoman Monique Bond, there are no suspects in custody, though police are on the look-out for a dark vehicle, "such as a Ford Taurus or a Chevrolet Lumina," possibly involved in the shooting. Police are also examining surveillance video from nearby security cameras in the hopes of getting more details. The Trib reports that before he lost consciousness, Soto was able to describe the assailants to a fellow officer and their description matched that of suspects in a string of recent area robberies.

Soto lived with his wife and children in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood and had most recently served with the CPD's Bomb and Arson Section. Romberg, a single mother who worked two jobs, was the supervisor for the Division of Child Protection with the Department of Children and Family Services as well as a Falcon Living real estate agent serving the Wicker Park and Bucktown neighborhoods. The exact relationship between Soto and Romberg is still unknown, though speculation continues that they were somehow related.

Photo of Kathryn Romberg from Falcon Living's website