William Ray Clements
Agency patch
Private

William Ray Clements

Seat Pleasant Police Department — Seat Pleasant, MD
Veteran → Felonious
End of Watch November 30, 1968
Age 24
Tour of Duty 4 yrs
Badge 331
The Vigil Panel 104 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Private William Clements and Private Robert Yeszerski, of the Prince George's County Police Department, were shot and killed while supervising the towing of a vehicle from an apartment complex parking lot on Greig Court in Seat Pleasant. The owner of the vehicle had threatened Private Clements two days earlier when he was warned that the vehicle would be towed. As the tow truck driver was preparing to leave with the vehicle, the owner approached the officers, pulled out a .38 caliber handgun, and shot both several times. The suspect was shot and wounded by another Seat Pleasant police officer arriving on the scene. The suspect was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life April 17, 1969. Private Clements was a U.S. Air Force veteran and had served with the Seat Pleasant Police Department for four years. He had previously served with the Mt. Rainer Police Department and Brentwood Police Department. He is survived by his wife and child and is buried in Ft. Lincoln Cemetery, Brentwood, Prince George's County, Maryland.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and child and is buried in Ft.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MD-B0B0351A
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

I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Private Clements gave the Seat Pleasant Police Department 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Seat Pleasant community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Seat Pleasant, MD
Platform Identity sppd.pg.md.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 30, 1968
Tour of Duty 4 yrs
Age 24
Badge Number 331
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Handgun

Military Service

William Ray Clements served in the U.S. Air Force before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Private William Ray Clements is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 officers honored here.

In MD, 195 of 377 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 51.7% of this state's fallen. That is 51.7 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

Seat Pleasant Police Department
1
of 1 officers
100% Felonious
MD — Statewide
195
of 377 officers
51.7% Felonious
Nationwide
1
of 97,759 officers
0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Ray Clements's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How William Ray Clements Compares

Age at Death
24
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
4
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William Ray Clements is highlighted in Nov.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,516
May
1,504
Jun
1,442
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,517
Sep
1,491
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. William Ray Clements was killed by handgun.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909

Incident Location

Military Service

William Ray Clements served in the U.S. Air Force before joining law enforcement.

Visit William Ray Clements’s page on salute.nw →

His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.

Others Who Wore This Badge

0 officers from Seat Pleasant Police Department are honored on badge.nw.