NPC- Commissioner Roberta Hernandez
Roberta Hernandez hails from Spanish Harlem, the child of a worker at a nearby museum and a detective with the C.P.D. Looking up to her cop father, she decided early on that she wanted to be a police officer. She has since dedicated her life to being the best cop she can possibly be, without relying on family connections. Roberta took criminology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, paying her own way with a variety of odd jobs and making close friends with other prospective officers. She took her first Police Officer Examination at the age of twenty-one, the minimum age for being hired as a police officer in the City- and failed. Roberta watched her friends pass into the force without her, but was undaunted. She studied, she trained, she supported herself as best she could, and with the encouragement of her friends and then-boyfriend, at age twenty-two she passed her exam.
After being hired by the CPD, Roberta’s career was meteoric. She distinguished herself through an unfaltering work ethic, unshakeable integrity, great modesty, and deep conviction. Once her career was on track, she became married very happily to a musician she loved very much. All in all, her life was a challenging but joyful one. Yet in 2008, shortly after reaching the rank of Inspector, Roberta’s career came to an abrupt end when she attempted to blow the whistle on some very well-connected officers taking some very hefty amounts of Mob money. This probably saved her life: the day after she turned in her badge, the entire police force vanished without warning, trace, or explanation. Tens of thousands of people were gone, friends and colleagues she’d known for years, and the City swiftly descended into lawlessness as the government declared it a disaster zone.
In the face of catastrophe, Roberta rolled up her sleeves. She and her husband were very active during this time in setting up neighbourhood watch and defense groups and lobbying the government to take action for the City. Mob attempts at intimidation only resulted in her family being sent out of the City away from danger and Roberta redoubling her efforts. She also helped form an association for the friends and relatives of the police force who were dealing with the inexplicable loss of their loved ones.
When the Porter activated and superpowered vigilantes from other dimensions appeared in the City, Roberta’s initial reaction was best summarized by ‘what’ and ‘no.’ Aside from the bizarreness of this science-fiction business, she was deeply sceptical of vigilante activity and superheroing. When supervillains like Carnage began adding to the City’s body count, her attitude only soured further, and the groups she was involved in had very little contact with Imports during the early days.
In March of 2009 the HIVE stormed the City in an attempt to seize the Porter. As a civilian, there was only so much Roberta could do in organizing and communicating to keep people safe. Her sense of impotence reached its height when she found her husband lying lifeless in a pile of rubble. When Optimus Prime and others re-established the City Police Department later that month, Roberta was among the first to sign up- once she was done grieving.
As one of the most experienced officers left in the City, Roberta proved invaluable in getting the new force going. While the Import officers busied themselves with supervillains, disasters, and trying to keep at least part of the City intact, Roberta toiled behind the scenes with hiring, organizing, purchasing, training, staffing, equipping, managing, helping to make the new cohort of native City police a reality. It was by no means easy, and she had to take an extended leave of absence in October 2009 for counseling when many of her former colleagues returned to the City as the ravenous undead. Shooting her decaying friends in the head required a good deal of therapy to get over, but once she was back on the job she resumed burying herself in work, earning a series of rapid promotions. However, her personal life has never really recovered from the blows she’s suffered: her family continues to live outside the City, she has made few new friends, and she is all but officially married to her work.
Over the past two years, Roberta’s attitude towards Imports has completely turned around. Being in an Import-resurrected police force has given her ample firsthand experience with how much Import heroes have done for the City, and she is now a staunch supporter of her Imported colleagues and Imports in general, crediting them with saving the entire City if not the world several times over. The federal government’s re-engagement with the City and recognition of Imports in 2010 was warmly received by Roberta. She was much less happy with the firebombing of LA, cementing a distrust and resentment of the government she has felt ever since the City was abandoned in 2008. She was also pleased by the election of an Import Mayor at the end of the year, and not just because she voted for Hundred. Roberta was also instrumental in creating the protocols and procedures the force uses to process suspects detained by superheroes according to legal principles, helping to make the City’s semi-sanctioned vigilantism possible.
More recently, Roberta’s exemplary work responding to the Joker’s February crime spree, organizing emergency response and making several low-profile yet high-value arrests of accomplices, earned her more recognition and further advancement. Today she once again holds the rank of Inspector and has a strong reputation as a near-model officer; dedicated, intelligent, and courageous, shunning the spotlight and working behind the scenes to keep the force going while adopting a hands-off management style that is appreciated by her subordinates. Her experience working with Carlton Lassiter impressed those traits on him enough to put her on the list of his potential replacements if he was ever Ported out. It is almost certain that Roberta will continue to display these traits in her new position as Commissioner.
After being hired by the CPD, Roberta’s career was meteoric. She distinguished herself through an unfaltering work ethic, unshakeable integrity, great modesty, and deep conviction. Once her career was on track, she became married very happily to a musician she loved very much. All in all, her life was a challenging but joyful one. Yet in 2008, shortly after reaching the rank of Inspector, Roberta’s career came to an abrupt end when she attempted to blow the whistle on some very well-connected officers taking some very hefty amounts of Mob money. This probably saved her life: the day after she turned in her badge, the entire police force vanished without warning, trace, or explanation. Tens of thousands of people were gone, friends and colleagues she’d known for years, and the City swiftly descended into lawlessness as the government declared it a disaster zone.
In the face of catastrophe, Roberta rolled up her sleeves. She and her husband were very active during this time in setting up neighbourhood watch and defense groups and lobbying the government to take action for the City. Mob attempts at intimidation only resulted in her family being sent out of the City away from danger and Roberta redoubling her efforts. She also helped form an association for the friends and relatives of the police force who were dealing with the inexplicable loss of their loved ones.
When the Porter activated and superpowered vigilantes from other dimensions appeared in the City, Roberta’s initial reaction was best summarized by ‘what’ and ‘no.’ Aside from the bizarreness of this science-fiction business, she was deeply sceptical of vigilante activity and superheroing. When supervillains like Carnage began adding to the City’s body count, her attitude only soured further, and the groups she was involved in had very little contact with Imports during the early days.
In March of 2009 the HIVE stormed the City in an attempt to seize the Porter. As a civilian, there was only so much Roberta could do in organizing and communicating to keep people safe. Her sense of impotence reached its height when she found her husband lying lifeless in a pile of rubble. When Optimus Prime and others re-established the City Police Department later that month, Roberta was among the first to sign up- once she was done grieving.
As one of the most experienced officers left in the City, Roberta proved invaluable in getting the new force going. While the Import officers busied themselves with supervillains, disasters, and trying to keep at least part of the City intact, Roberta toiled behind the scenes with hiring, organizing, purchasing, training, staffing, equipping, managing, helping to make the new cohort of native City police a reality. It was by no means easy, and she had to take an extended leave of absence in October 2009 for counseling when many of her former colleagues returned to the City as the ravenous undead. Shooting her decaying friends in the head required a good deal of therapy to get over, but once she was back on the job she resumed burying herself in work, earning a series of rapid promotions. However, her personal life has never really recovered from the blows she’s suffered: her family continues to live outside the City, she has made few new friends, and she is all but officially married to her work.
Over the past two years, Roberta’s attitude towards Imports has completely turned around. Being in an Import-resurrected police force has given her ample firsthand experience with how much Import heroes have done for the City, and she is now a staunch supporter of her Imported colleagues and Imports in general, crediting them with saving the entire City if not the world several times over. The federal government’s re-engagement with the City and recognition of Imports in 2010 was warmly received by Roberta. She was much less happy with the firebombing of LA, cementing a distrust and resentment of the government she has felt ever since the City was abandoned in 2008. She was also pleased by the election of an Import Mayor at the end of the year, and not just because she voted for Hundred. Roberta was also instrumental in creating the protocols and procedures the force uses to process suspects detained by superheroes according to legal principles, helping to make the City’s semi-sanctioned vigilantism possible.
More recently, Roberta’s exemplary work responding to the Joker’s February crime spree, organizing emergency response and making several low-profile yet high-value arrests of accomplices, earned her more recognition and further advancement. Today she once again holds the rank of Inspector and has a strong reputation as a near-model officer; dedicated, intelligent, and courageous, shunning the spotlight and working behind the scenes to keep the force going while adopting a hands-off management style that is appreciated by her subordinates. Her experience working with Carlton Lassiter impressed those traits on him enough to put her on the list of his potential replacements if he was ever Ported out. It is almost certain that Roberta will continue to display these traits in her new position as Commissioner.