July 20 marks the 86th anniversary of the murder of Sudbury police officer Sgt. Frederick Davidson.
In 2020, the bridge over Wanup Pit Road was named in Davidson’s honour.
On July 11, 1937, Davidson, a Welsh immigrant with no family in the city, was conducting a fairly routine check on a pair of men who were switching a license plate off of a vehicle on the street. When Davidson approached the men, one pulled a gun.
Davdison, 36, was shot twice in the head and four times in the back, but amazingly he didn’t succumb immediately to his injuries.
He lived for nine more days — dying July 20, 1937 — long enough to identify his attackers from photographs. One of the men, Vincent Gray, was killed in a shoot-out with police when officers caught up to the fleeing men near the Spanish River railway bridge.
The other man, Tom Ponomanenko, was wounded. After his murder conviction, Ponomanenko was hanged in Sudbury on Jan. 22, 1938.
Over the past 133 years, seven Sudbury police officers have died in the line of duty.
During the 2020 bridge dedication, GSPS Chief Paul Pedersen said Davidson’s death is a “stark reminder” of the uncertainty officer’s face.
"Despite this incident occurring 83 years ago, it serves as a stark reminder of the uncertainty and inherent risk that our frontline police officers face every day on duty," said GSPS chief Paul Pedersen.
"In light of that risk, it also serves to underline the unrelenting commitment to community safety and well-being that also extends to their families, to their support systems, that every day sees our people go off to work and every day hopes that our people come home."
The Sgt. Frederick Davidson Memorial Bridge is the eighth highway structure that has been dedicated to a fallen Sudbury police officer, and is in fact a pair of bridges that cross Wanup Pit Road in either direction.
"His tragic murder in 1937 is still a reminder of the risk and sacrifices officers make every single day," said Greater Sudbury mayor Brian Bigger at the time. "To the men and women with our police services, for the work you continue to do to make our community safe and strong, I want to sincerely thank you."
