Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that he did not suffer a heart attack.

WARSAW – Officer Jason Dobbins, 50, died Saturday at a Fort Wayne hospital as he recovered from surgery for a cardiac event he suffered on Jan. 24.

Dobbins started his law enforcement career in Plymouth and joined WPD as a full-time officer in 2012.

Officer Jason Dobbins

Dobbins was on duty on the afternoon of Jan. 24 when he alerted central dispatch that he needed an ambulance for an unknown medical problem, according to a detailed statement from the police department.

Dobbins had pulled over into a business parking lot on the north side of Warsaw and was suffering from chest pains when emergency responders found him. He was rushed to Kosciusko Community Hospital with the assistance of a police escort, the statement said.

A short time after being admitted to the emergency room at Kosciusko Community Hospital, the on-call doctor recognized that Jason was suffering from a critical heart condition.

Weather conditions made it unfavorable for Lutheran Air to pick him up, so he was again rushed by ambulance to Lutheran in Fort Wayne, with aid from a police escort. Dobbins made it through the surgery, but within days, complications surfaced. He died Saturday.

“The Warsaw Police Department is shocked and saddened at the sudden course of events that have led to today’s heartbreaking news,” the police department said in a prepared statement.

Mayor Joe Thallemer offered his condolences Sunday morning.

“Like everyone else, we’re all very saddened. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family. It’s an unexpected loss that’s very difficult to cope with, Thallemer said.

Dobbins followed in the footsteps of his father, Ted Dobbins, who served the city of Warsaw as a police officer between 1965 and 1985.

Since his time with WPD, Jason Dobbins was part of the afternoon and midnight shifts. In the spring of 2013, he joined the Warsaw dive team and served as one of the members always on call for any situation on or underwater. Additionally, Officer Dobbins went through a lengthy training course to become a polygraph examiner.   

Jason leaves behind a son Hayden, 23, and three daughters, Bayly, 20, Jaylyn, 18, and Payton, 14, as well as a stepson, Jake Crousore, 19.

Jason Dobbins recently married his wife, Kara.

“We ask that the Warsaw community help us as we surround the Dobbins family with love and support through this difficult time,” the statement said.