Cleveland Division of Police, Ohio
End of Watch Wednesday, July 1, 1998
Add to My HeroesRobert James Clark, II
Detective James Clark was shot and killed as he and his partner were attempting to question a suspected drug dealer.
Both officers were on their way to meet with state liquor agents for an undercover operation when they spotted what they suspected was a drug deal in a heavy narcotics area on Madison Avenue in Cleveland. The suspect they stopped to talk to fled into a building and was caught by the officers on the top of a staircase.
After the officers found drugs on the suspect, he pushed them both down the staircase and opened fire with a 9 mm handgun. Detective Clark was struck three times in the chest and once in the neck. He had taken his vest off approximately 15 minutes before the incident so that he would not be recognized during the undercover assignment.
A third officer who arrived returned fire and shot the suspect six times, killing him. The suspect had been released from custody earlier in the day because of a failed extradition, despite four felony warrants in Florida. Neither of the other two officers were injured.
Detective Clark had served with the Cleveland Division of Police for seven years and requested Badge #545 in memory of his great-grandfather, Patrolman George Shearer, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, police officer who was killed in a gun battle on May 12, 1914. Officer Clark is survived by his wife and three young children.
Bio
- Age 36
- Tour 7 years
- Badge 545
Incident Details
- Cause Gunfire
- Weapon Handgun; 9 mm
- Offender Shot and killed
Most Recent Reflection
View all 116 ReflectionsDetective Clark, you are not forgotten. May you rest in peace in Heaven.
Patrolman Kenneth Collins
South Amherst Police Department
July 3, 2023
Recent LODD Deaths
Investigator Brian Herbert
Osage Nation Police Department, TR
EOW: April 17, 2024
Deputy Sheriff Fred Fislar
Hendricks County Sheriff's Office, IN
EOW: April 16, 2024
Police Officer Michael E. Jensen
Syracuse Police Department, NY
EOW: April 14, 2024
Lieutenant Michael Hoosock
Onondaga County Sheriff's Office, NY
EOW: April 14, 2024
Sergeant William Marty Jackson, II
Winchester Police Department, KY
EOW: April 14, 2024
Police Officer Ross Bartlett
Ceresco Police Department, NE
EOW: April 12, 2024
Chief of Police Steven Allen Singer
Lake Lafayette Police Department, MO
EOW: April 8, 2024
Correctional Sergeant Andrew John Faught
Illinois Department of Corrections, IL
EOW: April 8, 2024
Police Officer Joseph McKinney
Memphis Police Department, TN
EOW: April 12, 2024