Trooper Bret Robert Clodfelter

Bret Robert Clodfelter

Trooper Bret Clodfelter was shot and killed while he was transporting a suspected drunk driver to jail near Klamath Falls.

Trooper Clodfelter had conducted a traffic stop of a suspected drunk driver at 12:30 a.m. He had handcuffed the driver and placed him in the back seat of his patrol car. Trooper Clodfelter offered to drive two passengers of the vehicle to their residence located nearby.

Dispatchers were unable to raise Trooper Clodfelter on the radio after he advised them of the arrest and transport. Backup officers were sent to check on him. His patrol car was located four blocks away from the original traffic stop. All three suspects were missing, and Trooper Clodfelter was found in the driver’s seat. He had been shot four times in the head. A massive manhunt ensued to capture the three suspects.

On October 2, 1992, tips led the police to the shooter, who was found hiding in a barn near the crime scene. The suspect had a history of assault and drug arrests. The suspect was convicted of murder and given life in prison without the possibility of parole. It was realized after his incarceration that the suspect had been in the United States illegally and had been removed to Mexico in December 1991. He returned to the U.S. and killed a Trooper Clodfelter less than 10 months later.

Trooper Clodfelter had served with the Oregon State Police for 8 years. He was survived by his wife, son, and daughter. Trooper Clodfelter’s wife, who was a sheriff's deputy, took her own life one year after his murder.