Patrolman Roderick D. Gordon
Western Pacific Railroad Police Department
Railroad Police

End of Watch: Sunday, September 8, 1935
Cause: Stabbed

Biographical Info
Age: 38
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available

Patrolman Roderick Gordon was killed after being slashed and stabbed 29 times by a hobo he had found sleeping in a railroad car in Stockton, California.

The suspect was later arrested in Ohio and returned to California to face trial. He was convicted of Patrolman Gordon's murder and sentenced to death by hanging. He was executed at Folsom Prison on October 16, 1936.

Patrolman Gordon was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of WWI and a recipient of the Purple Heart. He was survived by his wife and young son.

 
Photograph: Patrolman Roderick D. Gordon

Patch image: Western Pacific Railroad Police Department, Railroad Police

Visit Patrolman Gordon's memorial at www.ODMP.org