IN MEMORIAM
Memorials
The McClain County Sheriff’s Office remembers the following who gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving the citizens of McClain County:
Captain Esau R. Green
06/02/1993
Date of Incident: June 2, 1993
Age: 63
Tour of Duty: 2 years
Badge Number: 4407
Cause of Death: Vehicle Accident
Captain Esau R Green was involved in a single-vehicle fatality accident while traveling to work at about 4:35 am on June 2nd, 1993. The collision investigation determined Captain Green lost control of his vehicle and struck a utility pole about a mile south of Lexington in Cleveland County.
Captain Green had spent more than 30 years in law enforcement before joining the McClain County Sheriff’s Office, where he was assigned to the Detention Center upon his passing.
Captain Green originally grew up in the Lexington area, but after serving in the Army, he moved to California and worked for 36 years as a security expert for the U.S. Navy. When he moved back to Oklahoma, he lived in Corbett, and he had served as jail administrator for two years. Captain Green’s wife, Roberta Green, said Esau was a good family man and known to be loving, kind, and very soft-spoken.
Undersheriff Jason Edward Daugherty
07/18/1925
Cause: Stabbed
Incident Date: Saturday, May 9, 1925
Age: 47
Weapon: Edged weapon; Knife
Offender: Not available
Undersheriff Jason Daugherty succumbed to a stab wound sustained two months earlier while assisting a city marshal with putting a prisoner in jail.
On the morning of Saturday, May 9, 1925, Purcell City Marshal M.L. Thomas attempted to arrest a suspect who was running amuck on the streets of Purcell. McClain County Sheriff Johnnie Ratliff, his Undersheriff Jason Daugherty, and Deputy William Tucker went to assist with the arrest. During the struggle, the suspect stabbed Daugherty and was able to shoot Sheriff Ratliff twice with his own gun. Deputy Tucker then shot Rains five times. Sheriff Ratliff died later that evening, Rains died the next day. Undersheriff Daugherty was recovering from his stab wound when on July 18, two months later, he collapsed and died instantly from a blood clot from the stab wound as he was entering a Purcell store.
Undersheriff Daugherty was survived by his wife, two sons, and seven daughters.
Sheriff John E. (Johnnie) Ratliff
05/09/1925
Date of Incident: Saturday, May 9, 1925
Age: 51
Weapon Used: Officer’s handgun
Suspect Info: Shot and killed
Sheriff Ratliff was shot and killed while he and several other officers attempted to restrain a crazed man. The suspect had been taken to the jail by a railroad detective but was released the following morning. Later in the morning, the city marshal encountered the man again.
Undersheriff Jason Daugherty went to assist the marshal but the man suddenly pulled a knife and stabbed him in the shoulder. Sheriff Ratliff and other deputies came to assist as well. The suspect was able to gain control of Sheriff Ratliff’s weapon and shot him twice, killing him. Other officers continued to return fire, mortally wounding the suspect. Undersheriff Daugherty succumbed to his wounds two months later.
Sheriff Ratliff was in his fourth term as sheriff.