BLADENBORO — Family and friends lined the streets here late Wednesday afternoon to pay tribute to one of their own.
Trooper Kevin K. Conner, born and raised in Bladenboro who made a home with his wife and two children in the Williams Township community of Columbus County, was fatally shot while making a traffic stop just after midnight. He died later at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington.
His body was taken to Greenville for an autopsy, and then came through this hurricane-devastated community on the way to a Columbus County funeral home. Here, in Elizabethtown and in Whiteville, firefighters hung large American flags from fire department ladder trucks for a procession of Highway Patrol cruisers and other law enforcement escorting a vehicle carrying his body.
Sirens wailed between the small town’s old brick buildings. Mourners wept. In chatter along the streets as they waited for the arrival, those gathered remembered Conner as a kind man who would try to help anyone.
“Many will say he was the nicest guy you would ever meet and the ones that knew Kevin and family would agree,” the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.
Conner served in Troop B of the Highway Patrol, which includes Columbus County.
“It’s very upsetting,” said 1st Sgt. Michael Baker, a spokesman for the Highway Patrol. “I knew Kevin personally, people here in this community thought of Kevin as an upstanding citizen and officer. He was a family man. His loss is very tragic to the organization as well as the entire community here in Columbus County.”
Gov. Roy Cooper ordered state flags to half-staff.
The suspect, 20-year-old Raheem Cole Dashanell Davis of Chadbourn, is charged with first-degree murder and made an appearance in court Wednesday afternoon. He was denied bail and given a Nov. 6 probable cause hearing. James Payne is his lawyer.
Davis kept his head down during the proceedings. Lawmen filled the gallery area.
District Attorney Jon David said Davis shot Conner in the torso and eyebrow, then left the scene on U.S. 701 near Sellers Town Road.
“This was cold-blooded, first-degree murder,” David said.
The DA said Trooper Jason Weissinger was first to arrive, reviewed dashcam video and issued a description of the vehicle — a white GMC pickup that had been stolen.
Davis, on probation for a 2017 conviction of firing into an occupied dwelling, was initially stopped by Conner for speeding.
The truck was spotted in Fair Bluff about an hour after the shooting by police. A chase ensued, the truck became disabled on a railroad bed and the chase continued on foot. Davis was eventually taken into custody without further incident.
“The Highway Patrol family is mourning the loss of a hero and will forever be changed by the tragic events that have occurred,” said Col. Glenn McNeill Jr., commander of the Highway Patrol. “We ask everyone to please keep Trooper Conner’s family and all who knew him in your thoughts and prayers.”
Bladen County Sheriff Jim McVicker, who stood near some of the family as the procession passed hundreds of people in Bladenboro, was among those hailing Conner’s example. In Elizabethtown, workers at the courthouse came outside for the procession as it entered town from across the Cape Fear River on U.S. 701. Others joined them lining the street.
Mourners were numerous along U.S. 701 in Whiteville as well.
“We extend our deepest sympathy to Trooper Conner’s family,” said Public Safety Secretary Erik A. Hooks. “Trooper Conner was killed while protecting and serving his community. We mourn our loss and will continue to support his family. We are grateful for his service and honor the men and women who serve in harm’s way, each and every day.”
Conner was with Trooper Scott Floyd in August 2011 when the pair saved the lives of two people involved in a head-on collision on U.S. 74 in Columbus County, a report on WRAL said.
The drivers were pinned in their vehicles, paramedics were still on the way and a fire started. Conner used the extinguisher from his patrol car to twice put down the flames while still attending to the driver.
The drivers were taken to New Hanover Regional; authorities said the quick thinking by the troopers saved the lives of the crash victims, the WRAL report said.
The Highway Patrol, formed in July 1929, has now lost 65 members in the line of duty.
“This is not something we take very lightly,” Baker, the patrol spokesman, said. “It is a constant the reminder of the dangers and perils law enforcement encounter every day.”
A visitation is scheduled Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. at South Columbus High School, with a funeral service to follow at Inman Ward Funeral Home of Tabor City.
Bladenboro Hardware and a cluster of street signs in front of the farmers market form the familiar gateway to downtown Bladenboro. Wednesday afternoon, mourners of Kevin K. Conner gathered from here to the railroad tracks to pay respects.
Sheriff Jim McVicker stands with some of the family of Kevin K. Conner on Wednesday as a procession of law enforcement vehicles escort a vehicle with his body back to a Columbus County funeral home.
Hundreds were along the streets of Bladenboro on Wednesday to pay respects to Trooper Kevin K. Conner.
Hundreds were along the streets of Bladenboro on Wednesday, paying respects to Trooper Kevin K. Conner. The lawman was born and raised in this small community.