Border Patrol Inspector Richard David Clarke

Richard David Clarke

Border Patrol Inspector Richard Clarke was stabbed to death while transporting an illegal alien in El Paso, Texas.

Inspector Clarke and his partner had arrested the man for entering the United States illegally. They were transporting him to the Immigration Service headquarters in El Paso along Stanton Street. As they approached 7th Avenue the prisoner suddenly produced a knife and stabbed Inspector Clarke in the heart from the back seat. The man then grabbed the other inspector's duty weapon. The other inspector, who had been driving the vehicle, then struggled with the suspect in the backseat and held him until other officers arrived.

Inspector Clarke was able to exit the vehicle but collapsed on the street.

The suspect was charged with murder. On February 7, 1951, he was ruled insane and committed to a mental institution in Springfield where he died in 1954.

Inspector Clarke had served with the United States Border Patrol for one year. He was survived by his wife. He was buried in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin.