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Davidson police ask state to dedicate bridge in fallen officer's name

By Mark Barber
By Mark Barber

DAVIDSON, N.C. — On Christmas Day, the town of Davidson will mark the 20th anniversary of the murder of a police officer.

Mark Swaney was killed in the line of duty in 1997.

The Police Department has already honored its hero in its own way. Outside the department in downtown Davidson, people can see a sign with the officer's name and blue Christmas lights wrapped around a tree.

"People have told me, ‘I've always seen that tree and never knew what it represented,’" Police Chief Penny Dunn said.

Many newcomers don't know it, but those lights represent the memory of Swaney.

He was trying to break up a fight on a road near Davidson College when one of the suspects, a teen named Damon Kearns, pulled a gun and shot him, police said.

Swaney died 20 years ago on Christmas Day.

Year after year, dozens of officers from across the state return to an online memorial to leave deeply emotional messages for Swaney, but Dunn thinks it's time for something more permanent.

With help from Sgt. Scott Searcy, Dunn wrote to the North Carolina Department of Transportation in October, asking it to dedicate the Exit 30 bridge over Interstate 77 to the fallen officer.

The state rejected the request because Swaney was employed by the town.

"It was extremely disappointing," Dunn said.

NCDOT officials told Channel 9 the department dedicates bridges to county or state employees, such as deputies and troopers, but it asks towns to honor their own officers on their own property.

"He's a fallen hero, independent of who he was working for whether he was paid or wasn't paid. It doesn't matter; he was putting his life on the line," resident Dave Cable said.

Since Davidson is so small, the town doesn't have anything more visible than the exit over I-77, and that's why police are pleading with the state to reconsider.

"It's long overdue. It's been 20 years. Please help us get to the point where we can recognize his dedication," Dunn said.

Gina Swaney Bouknight, Swaney's sister, told Channel 9 in a statement:

"I want to thank Sergeant Scott Searcy for the idea of naming the bridge in Mark's honor and wish to thank the Davidson Police Department's for their efforts to make this happen.  Mark died doing what he loved.  He always wanted to be a police officer from the time he was a small child, following in his father's footsteps.  He was the type of person that would give you the shirt off his back.  He loved the Davidson community and did his best as a guardian for all her citizens."

Earlier in December, NCDOT renamed a bridge in Pineville for another local hero.

[READ MORE: Bridge dedicated in honor of fallen Pineville firefighter Richard Sheltra]

NCDOT officials said they commemorated the bridge on Polk Street for firefighter Richard Sheltra because he died while working as a volunteer in 2016.

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