Community, State First Responders Join Town Tribute to FRPD Sgt. Dennis Smedley

The morning of September 20, 2023, 40 years to the day after he was gunned down from behind near the intersection of Villa Avenue and Sixth Street as he was headed to what would have been a routine day of court testimony in cases he was involved in, Front Royal Police Sgt. Dennis M. Smedley’s memory was invoked in a gathering of Town officials and first responders from the Town, County, and State, along with Smedley family members on North Commerce Avenue.

The occasion of that gathering was the naming of the North Commerce Avenue bridge over Happy Creek just north of its intersection with East Main Street for Sgt. Smedley. It was an emotional tribute to a local first responder lost in the line of duty to a murder that remains unsolved to this day. We spoke with Sgt. Smedley’s sister, South River District Warren County Supervisor Cheryl Cullers, following the ceremony as she mingled with family members, including brothers Tim and Todd Smedley, her husband Steve Cullers and son David, and sister-in-law Cathy.

An FRPD Honor Guard presented the colors, setting the official ceremony in motion 40 years to the day of Sgt. Dennis Smedley’s murder. Smedley family members make their way forward, and further below, the State Police have joined the crowd behind FRPD Chief Kahle Magalis in left foreground. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

Of the remembrance attended by FRPD members present and past, WCSO personnel, as well as County Fire & Rescue members, and State Police, Cheryl told us, “It’s important, even for other law enforcement personnel, to know what you dedicate your life to, that people appreciate it enough to do something like this. That we watch over and respect them and help them protect us.”

We asked Sgt. Smedley’s sister if it haunted the family that their brother’s murder at age 28 remains unsolved all these years later. “I can’t speak for my brothers, but I put it in God’s hands,” Cheryl told us after an emotional pause.

An FRPD Honor Guard presented the colors to set the dedication in motion. Mayor Lori Cockrell and Vice-Mayor Wayne Sealock, himself a retired first responder whom the mayor acknowledged as bringing the bridge-renaming dedication idea to council, offered keynote comments. “I wish this day didn’t have to happen,” Mayor Cockrell observed of the bridge renaming to the lost FRPD sergeant. She offered hope that the newly placed Smedley Bridge sign would help passing drivers “to think about the life, his life, and what he sacrificed for our community.”

‘I wish this day didn’t have to happen,’ Mayor Lori Cockrell said of the personal sacrifice at the root of honoring murdered FRPD Sgt. Dennis Smedley. The mayor credited Vice-Mayor Wayne Sealock for bringing the Smedley Bridge re-naming idea to council. Below, the vice-mayor read council’s Resolution of support of the bridge initiative approved on Aug. 28.

Following the mayor’s comments, Vice-Mayor Sealock read the town council Resolution dedicating the bridge to Sgt. Smedley’s memory.  Click here to read.

WCSO’s Roger Vorous, back to the camera, gave the invocation to a solemn crowd gathered in memory of FRPD Sgt. Dennis Smedley, a brother, a son, a friend, and an officer in service to his community.

A county fire engine passes in acknowledgment of the ceremony. And yes, there is a bridge artfully built into the road across Happy Creek’s shift eastward before continuing its path north toward the 8th Street low-water bridge and beyond.