"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of two D.C. MPD Police Officers: Clifton Rife II and Oliver Wendell Smith Jr.

Law enforcement officers are sometimes at risk even while off-duty.

D.C. MPD Sgt. Clifton Rife II and Officer Oliver Wendell Smith Jr.

McLean, VA (April 15, 2025) - By all accounts, Sgt. Clifton Rife II was a hardworking officer who had no fear of the streets. One police official said, “You got so used to him doing a great job that it just became the standard.” During the early morning hours of June 2, 2004, Sgt. Rife was off duty when he was confronted by a would-be 16-year-old robber. The two exchanged gunfire. The 16-year-old hoodlum died at the scene, and Sgt. Rife died a short time later. To the D.C. police veterans that had been on the job for awhile, Sgt. Rife’s off-duty death reminded them of another case involving a D.C. police officer that took place seven years earlier. During the early morning hours of February 26, 1997, Officer Oliver Wendell Smith Jr. was on his way home from work when he was robbed at gunpoint as he got out of his car. The thieves were about to flee the scene when one of the suspects found Officer Smith’s badge and realized he was a police officer. That’s when they stuck a gun to his head and shot him execution-style. Listen to the podcast to learn more: https://open.substack.com/pub/behindbadge/p/heroes-live-forever-the-story-of-09f?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web