In Memory of Brent William Clearman
Published in the San Francisco Chronicle - October 8, 2009
A section of Interstate 880 in Oakland was named Wednesday in honor of California Highway Patrol Officer Brent Clearman, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in 2006.
His widow, Cathy Clearman, helped unveil a sign this morning on the right shoulder of northbound I-880 near the 66th Avenue on-ramp. The sign reads, "CHP Officer Brent W. Clearman Memorial Freeway."
On Aug. 5, 2006, Russell Rodrigues struck Clearman after the officer had pulled over and left his patrol car to investigate a minor accident. The officer, a former Marine and Iraq war veteran who lived in Concord, died the next day, CHP officials said.
At a ceremony at the State Building auditorium in Oakland, Cathy Clearman thanked the CHP and friends for their support and spoke warmly of her husband. "I believe our heroes' lives ripple in the water and continue beyond our sight," she said. Through tears and smiles, she recalled how she would go running with her husband. Whenever she felt she could go no more, he would slow down a half-step behind her and stick his finger into the small of her back to propel her forward.
Assistant Chief Jim Leonard, who formerly commanded the CHP's Oakland office where Clearman had worked for only 16 months, said Clearman was a highly disciplined officer whose skills as a marksman had enabled him to train other law-enforcement officials across the country. Clearman could be very intense -- pictures of him shown at today's ceremony showed him with only hints of a smile -- but his dedication to his career was clear. But his job "wasn't a means to an end," Leonard said. He didn't work for a paycheck or to "retire on the golf course," he said. "His objective was to do his duty."
Leonard thanked other local agencies and Alameda County prosecutors Greg Dolge and Paul Hora, who were in the audience, for their support. Rodrigues, a former sheriff's jail technician, was sentenced to four years in prison in October 2006.
Published in the Oakland Tribune - October 7, 2009
OAKLAND - A California Highway Patrol ceremony for a fallen comrade backed up traffic for several miles on northbound Interstate 880 from 66th Avenue through San Leandro.
The event was to honor CHP Officer Brent Clearman, who was on patrol the night of Aug. 5, 2006, when he was struck by a car on the 66th Avenue ramp onto northbound I-880. The 33-year-old died the following day, and the person responsible was eventually convicted in the case.
A portion of the interstate is being named in honor of his life and service.
Clearman joined the CHP in 2004 after spending 12 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served in Iraq and was trained as a sniper.
A sign was unveiled this morning on the highway, and Clearman was remembered by speakers at an event at the Elihu Harris State Building.
The new highway designation "underscores the risk that officers face every day when they're out there performing their duties," said CHP spokesman Officer Sam Morgan this morning.
California Highway Patrol Memorial
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Highway Patrol/State Police Memorial