CLAYTON PATTERSON
Chief of Police Rebekah Rickstrew enjoyed watching her 5 children grow and start their own lives. Her 3 boys all worked at the El Dorado Correctional Facility. In the fall of 2021, she was doing a presentation to a school group and told them about the hardest thing an officer has to do: knock on the door in the middle of the night and make a death notification, shattering a family’s life to pieces. Little did she know that a few short hours later she would wake up to that horrid phone call from a deputy.
Her son Clayton, 19, was struck and killed by a wrong way drunk driver. The impaired driver was speeding excessively, and this was not his first DUI. Clayton was driving late, doing what he always did, helping out someone close to him. Clayton was described by everyone as a powerful force of good: vibrant, energetic, and outgoing. He knew no strangers, engaging quickly with those he met. He was funny and charming, and always worked to make the world a better place and include everyone. He was working at the prison until he was old enough to follow his mother’s footsteps and go to the police academy. His large circle of family and friends will forever feel the great loss to the world when Clayton was stolen from them.