HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 87

(By Delegate Gearhart)

[Introduced February 27, 2018; Referred to the Committee on Rules]

Requesting the Division of Highways name bridge number 28-77-13.73 NB - SB (28A203, 28A204), locally known as I-77 Over Mercer 7 Bridges, carrying I-77 NB - SB over Route 7 in Mercer County, West Virginia, the “Constable Joseph H. Davidson Memorial Bridge”.

Whereas, After serving several years as a peace officer in Mercer County both as a deputy sheriff and as a private security officer for Mercer County coal mines, Constable Joseph H. Davidson was duly elected to serve as Constable of the East River District in 1932; and

Whereas, On October 9, 1934, Constable Davidson was shot and killed in the line of duty while guarding two individuals who had been arrested on charges related to a southern West Virginia crime spree; and

Whereas, Less than 24 hours after Constable Davidson was murdered, on October 10, 1934, the Mercer County Commission worked with then Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney Roscoe H. Pendleton to offer a $500 reward for the capture and conviction of the two fugitives suspected of killing the “very capable” and “well known” peace officer; and

Whereas, The funeral for Constable Davidson was conducted at his home on the corner of Bluefield Avenue and Bee Street in Princeton. A large outpouring of family members, law- enforcement officers and local citizens attended the funeral service and participated in the funeral procession that stretched out for a mile on the way to the Davidson Family Cemetery on New Hope-Sand Lick Road in Mercer County. The number of mourners at the service attested to the level of respect and appreciation Constable Davidson had in the county he served; and

Whereas, Law-enforcement officers in Virginia captured one suspect who was convicted in January of 1935 and sentenced to life in prison, and captured the second suspect in Oklahoma in late April of 1935. The second suspect’s capture was aided by fingerprint identification through the help of the U.S. Department of Justice; and

Whereas, The discussion surrounding the recognition of Constable Davidson, the only Mercer County constable killed in the line of duty through the county’s 180-year history, has led to additional discussions into the concept of creating a “Wall of Honor”, to memorialize all of Mercer County’s law-enforcement officers who have fallen in the line of duty; and

Whereas, The Mercer County Commission expresses its heartfelt thanks to the family of Constable Davidson for their efforts to bring this matter to light; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to name bridge number 28-77-13.73 NB - SB (28A203, 28A204), locally known as I-77 Over Mercer 7 Bridges, carrying I-77 NB - SB over Route 7 in Mercer County, West Virginia, the “Constable Joseph H. Davidson Memorial Bridge”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to have made and be placed signs identifying the bridge as the “Constable Joseph H. Davidson Memorial Bridge”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates forward a copy of this resolution to the Commissioner of the Division of Highways.