Deputy Sheriff Clifford Phillip Payne, 38, was killed during an arrest attempt in New Cordell, Oklahoma, in the early morning hours of June 18, 1977. Payne, an officer with the Washita County Sheriff’s Office, and an undercover narcotics agent went to arrest a 17-year-old male on a marijuana charge around 1:30 a.m. When they approached the home, the teenager’s stepfather, John Eakin, fired five shots from a .38-caliber pistol. Payne was struck and died of his wounds; the undercover agent sustained injuries to his chin and hand.

The 17-year-old initially fled and was the subject of an eight-hour manhunt in the Burns Flat industrial district before surrendering. Eakin was arrested and charged with Payne’s murder; at trial he said he thought Payne was an armed intruder because of the officer’s beard and long hair, while the prosecution said Payne was in uniform. The jury acquitted Eakin. Payne was a husband and father of three sons.

Has anyone in the area preserved memories or details about Payne or the events that night?