Richard Thomas Steed was a 30-year-old San Clemente police officer killed on November 29, 1978. He had served with the San Clemente Police Department for less than two years and remains the only member of that department known to have been killed in the line of duty.

Officer Steed was responding to a reported suicide attempt on El Camino Real when the caller, who had faked the wrist slashing, ambushed and shot him. The suspect fled but was captured about eight hours later in a nearby parking lot and was later found incompetent to stand trial and committed to a mental hospital. A park in San Clemente and a stretch of Interstate 5 have been dedicated in his memory.

The ambush was described as premeditated, using the fake suicide attempt to lure an officer into a vulnerable position. If anyone knew Officer Steed or has information about the shooting, please share what can help preserve his memory and the record of the case.