United States Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, U.S. Government
End of Watch: Tuesday, August 26, 1969
Age: 34
Tour of Duty: 4 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Aircraft accident
Date of Incident: August 26, 1969
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Special Investigator James Patterson was killed in an airplane crash at Bates Municipal Airport in Mobile, Alabama.
The private plane that had been contracted by the United States Treasury Department to conduct aerial searches for illegal alcohol stills. It had taken off Naval Air Station Albany, in Albany Georgia, and was on final approach to Bates Field when it crashed as it made its final approach. Two contractors were killed and one was seriously injured in the crash.
Investigator Patterson was a U.S. Army veteran. He had served with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms for two years and had previously served with the United States Border Patrol. He was survived by his wife and two sons.