A celebrated Transportation Security Administration supervisor at DFW International Airport died last week after contracting COVID-19, the agency said.
Clay King, who worked for TSA since 2002 and was a supervisory security officer, is the first TSA officer at DFW International Airport to die of COVID-19 since the pandemic began 19 months ago, said spokeswoman Patricia Mancha.
“He was very well thought of by his team and by those he met,” TSA said in a statement. “King was always positive, loved his work, and believed strongly in TSA’s mission. He will be missed and fondly remembered. We offer our heartfelt condolences to King’s family, friends and colleagues.”
King was honored in a Congressional floor speech in 2004 for pulling an unconscious man out of a burning vehicle while driving to work, according to a speech by Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Pilot Point.
“Lacking regard for his own safety, Clay King opened the door and wrestled the driver out of the burning wreck,” Burgess said in his floor speech. “By doing so, he singed his right hand in the rescue for the flames had already reached the interior of the car and the passenger’s pant legs were on fire. Due to Clay King’s heroic actions, this person is alive today.”
King called work after the rescue to request permission to go home and change clothes before returning for his shift. He was named DFW’s TSA “screener of the year” in 2004.
DFW International Airport has had 365 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in March 2020. The agency doesn’t report how many agents are stationed at each airport, but DFW has been the second-largest airport in the country over the last year and a half.
Five other airports have reported more confirmed COVID-19 cases among TSA agents than DFW, led by Miami International with 529.
TSA agents, as federal employees, are required to be vaccinated to comply with a White House order. However, TSA Administrator David Pekoske told CNN earlier this month that about 60% of TSA employees have been vaccinated, below the 68.9% rate for full vaccination of adults reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
TSA did not indicate King’s vaccination status.
