Tulare Police Department, California
End of Watch: Saturday, January 11, 1947
Age: 29
Tour of Duty: 6 months
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: January 11, 1947
Weapon Used: Handgun; .45 caliber
Suspect Info: Committed suicide
Police Officer Richard Smith was shot and killed while he and other officers searched for a suspect in the basement of a hotel.
The suspect was wanted for failing to appear in court for assaulting his girlfriend with a knife. The suspect was hiding in a storeroom and saw Officer Smith through a crack in the wall. The man opened fire through a wooden partition, fatally wounding Officer Smith. The suspect, 46, then shot and killed himself.
Officer Smith was a United States Army WWII Intelligence Officer veteran and had served with the Tulare Police Department for six months. He was survived by his wife and mother.
In 1978 a street was named Richard Smith Street in Officer Smith's honor.