Roll of Honor
Lyle B. Clements
Incident
Location: Virginia Weapon: Handgun Offender: Sentenced to life
Detective Lyle Clements was shot and killed while patrolling a freight train near the Dunlop Yards in Chesterfield County, Virginia. The suspect had also shot Sergeant William Smith the previous week in the Milan freight yards in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Sergeant Smith was patrolling the yards before leaving on a train to Rocky Mount when the shooting took place. The suspect was able to flee the scene and on September 3, 1930, shot and killed Detective Lyle Clements, who was also a detective with the railroad, in the Dunlop rail yards in Chesterfield County, Virginia.
Detective Clements was shot and killed in a coal car where he discovered the hobo and attempted to arrest him. The man shot Detective Clements four times. Detective Clements was able to return fire and wound the suspect in the leg. After the shooting the suspect threw his body from the moving train.
The man, 28, was arrested two weeks later in Charleston, South Carolina, and confessed to both murders. He had escaped from a prison work camp in Virginia on July 7, 1929, where he was serving a five year sentence for a malicious shooting conviction on July 2, 1927. On October 23 1930, he was convicted of Detective Clements' murder and sentenced to life. A 13-year-old boy arrested with him was convicted of complicity in murder.
Detective Clements had been with the agency for five years and was survived by his wife, father, and two sisters.
Survivors
Detective Clements had been with the agency for five years and was survived by his wife, father, and two sisters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-7C9703F4- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Detective Clements gave the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Police Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Jacksonville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Clements.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Detective Lyle B. Clements is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In FL, 539 of 1,008 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 53.5% of this state's fallen. That is 0.7 percentage points below the national rate of 54.2%.
At Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Police Department, 6 of 7 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 85.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Lyle B. Clements's cause is highlighted.
How Lyle B. Clements Compares
Offender Outcome
Sentenced to life
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Lyle B. Clements is highlighted in Sep.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Lyle B. Clements was killed by handgun.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
6 officers from Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
