Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Robert Patterson was shot and killed by another officer who mistook him for an offender. Officer Patterson was working plainclothes, secondary employment job at a nightclub on Morris Avenue. He had broken up a fight between two women and disarmed one of them who had pulled out a knife. As Officer Patterson walked the woman out of the nightclub he encountered an on-duty officer who was unaware of what had just occurred and mistook Officer Patterson as an offender who was holding a woman at knifepoint. The officer grabbed Officer Patterson's arm and shot him. Officer Patterson died in surgery a short time later.
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BO-US-AL-1A99DAE0- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
20 years. You could have gone home.
Police Officer Patterson gave the Birmingham Police Department 20 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Birmingham community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Patterson.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Robert D. Patterson is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.
In AL, 182 of 643 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.3% of this state's fallen. That is 28.3 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Birmingham Police Department, 14 of 49 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Robert D. Patterson's cause is highlighted.
How Robert D. Patterson Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Robert D. Patterson is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
48 officers from Birmingham Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
