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2007 SESSION

076601738
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 459
Offered January 26, 2007
Celebrating the life of Roy S. Smith.
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Patrons-- Herring and Potts; Delegates: Caputo, Marshall, R.G., May, Poisson and Rust
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WHEREAS, Roy S. Smith of Hamilton, aged 87, a legendary trooper with the Virginia State Police and former member of the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, died on January 5, 2007; and

WHEREAS, esteemed among his peers, Roy Smith was better known as "Bull Smith" for his tough but fair attitude during his nearly 50 years of service in state and local law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, Roy Smith joined the Virginia State Police on July 15, 1941, when it was still a part of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and when the General Assembly made the state law-enforcement agency a separate entity, he became one of the first troopers, well known throughout Loudoun County and considered its leading police authority; and

WHEREAS, when he retired on May 1, 1979, the last of the DMV officers, Trooper Smith had driven over two million miles during his 37-year career with the Virginia State Police and investigated over 3,000 accidents with no reportable incidents; one memorable motorist he cited turned out to be Lyndon B. Johnson, then the U.S. Senate majority leader, who happened to be without his driver’s license; and

WHEREAS, Trooper Smith was highly respected by his fellow officers, and he mentored and trained some of the best uniformed policemen on the force to uphold the mission of every law-enforcement officer “to protect and serve” with "honesty and integrity"; and

WHEREAS, undertaken with an enormous sense of community pride and public duty, Roy Smith’s extraordinary law-enforcement career spanned 48 years of exemplary and faithful service, working for the Virginia State Police from 1941 to 1979, retiring at age 60, joining the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, and finally turning in his badge in 1989; and

WHEREAS, a disciplined, hard-working, but compassionate professional, Trooper Smith was often the only available trooper in Loudoun County and his fellow citizens thought of him as a hero and knew he was always on duty around the clock to protect them; and

WHEREAS, Roy Smith will be forever remembered for his valiant performance as a law-enforcement officer; his devotion to his family, community, and fellow officers; and his commitment to protecting and serving Virginia's citizens and enforcing the laws of the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the passing of a dedicated public servant and an outstanding Virginian, Roy S. Smith; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Roy S. Smith as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.