STATE POLICE TO HONOR TROOPER LUCAS B. DOWELL DURING ANNUAL LAW ENFORCEMENT MEMORIAL SERVICE

In advance of National Police Week, the men and women of the Virginia State Police and their families will gather together Thursday, May 9, 2019, to honor those public safety professionals who have given the ultimate sacrifice in their service to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

During the 2019 Virginia State Police Officers’ Memorial Service, special recognition will be given to Trooper Lucas B. Dowell, 28, who lost his life Feb. 4, 2019 in Cumberland County. Virginia Senator Charles W. Carrico Sr., 40^th District, will provide the ceremony’s keynote address.

A poignant part of the service will be the unveiling and dedication of Trooper Dowell’s portrait before his family and fellow troopers. Following the ceremony, Trooper Dowell’s portrait will be hung in the Colonel C.W. Woodson Jr. Memorial Gallery located within the Virginia State Police Academy. The gallery already holds the portraits of the state police’s other 65 courageous men and women who died in the line-of-duty while serving the citizens of the Commonwealth.

On Feb. 4, 2019, Trooper Dowell was assisting the Piedmont Regional Drug and Gang Task Force in his capacity as a member of the Virginia State Police Appomattox Division Tactical Team. The Tactical Team was executing a search warrant at a residence in the 1500 block of Cumberland Road/Route 45, just north of the town limits of Farmville. The Tactical Team had made entry into the residence when an adult male inside the residence began firing at the Tactical Team and subsequently shot Trooper Dowell. The Tactical Team members returned fire, fatally wounding the male suspect. Trooper Dowell was transported to Southside Community Hospital in Farmville, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The service will recognize all of the Department’s law enforcement professionals who have died in the line of duty, to include a special tribute to the following 12 troopers in which 2019 marks a significant milestone:

5 Years:                Sergeant J. Michael Phillippi                               (2014 – Henry Co.)

20 Years:              Trooper Daniel Lee Williams                               (1999 – Cumberland Co.)

30 Years:              Trooper Jerry Lynn Hines                                     (1989 – Rockbridge Co.)

35 Years:              Sergeant James LeRoy Biggs                                 (1984 – Alleghany Co.)

35 Years:              Trooper Johnny Rush Bowman                            (1984 – City of Manassas)

45 Years:              Trooper James Read Hughes                                 (1974 – Fairfax Co.)

65 Years:              Trooper Robert Louis Loder, Jr.                            (1954 – Hanover Co.)

65 Years:              Trooper Robert Fulton Giles                                  (1954 – Wise Co.)

80 Years:              Sergeant Clarence Lemuel Maynard                    (1939 – Washington Co.)

85 Years:              Trooper Charles Bazil Bullock                               (1934 – Fairfax Co.)

90 Years:              Inspector Curtis Lee Wood                                     (1929 – James City Co.)

90 Years:              Inspector Phillip C. Via                                            (1929 – Waynesboro) 

*Year & Location of Death

Each tribute includes a single bell toll and an Honor Guard salute.