RICHMOND – Virginia State Police honored fallen troopers, including the late Johnny Rush Bowman, from Manassas. He died in 1984 after he was stabbed 45 times while off-duty at his home.
The case is still unsolved, and the FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction in the case.
Bowman’s memory was honored at the same time as Virginia State Police gathered on May 9 to remember Trooper Lucas Dowell, who was killed in the line of duty.
In advance of National Police Week, the men and women of the Virginia State Police and their families gathered to honor those public safety professionals who have lost their lives in their service to Virginia. Virginia Senator Charles W. Carrico Sr., 40th District, will provide the ceremony’s keynote address.
State police planned to include the unveiling and dedication of Trooper Dowell’s portrait before his family and fellow troopers in the service. Following the ceremony, Trooper Dowell’s portrait was to be hung in the Colonel C.W. Woodson Jr. Memorial Gallery located within the Virginia State Police Academy. The gallery already holds the portraits of the state police’s other 65 courageous men and women who died in the line-of-duty while serving the citizens of Virginia.
On Feb. 4, 2019, Trooper Dowell was assisting the Piedmont Regional Drug and Gang Task Force as a member of the Virginia State Police Appomattox Division Tactical Team. The Tactical Team had a warrant to search a house in the 1500 block of Cumberland Road/Route 45, just north of the town limits of Farmville. The Tactical Team had entered the house when a man inside began firing at the Tactical Team and shot Trooper Dowell. The Tactical Team members returned fire, fatally wounding the suspect. Trooper Dowell was transported to Southside Community Hospital in Farmville, where he passed away from his injuries.
The service was to recognize all of the Department’s law enforcement professionals who have died in the line of duty. A special tribute, including a single bell toll and an Honor Guard salute, was planned for the following 12 troopers in which 2019 marks a significant milestone (year and place of death included):
5 Years: Sergeant J. Michael Phillippi (2014 – Henry Co.)
20 Years: Trooper Daniel Lee Williams (1999 – Cumberland Co.)
30 Years: Trooper Jerry Lynn Hines (1989 – Rockbridge Co.)
35 Years: Sergeant James LeRoy Biggs (1984 – Alleghany Co.)
35 Years: Trooper Johnny Rush Bowman (1984 – City of Manassas)
45 Years: Trooper James Read Hughes (1974 – Fairfax Co.)
65 Years: Trooper Robert Louis Loder, Jr. (1954 – Hanover Co.)
65 Years: Trooper Robert Fulton Giles (1954 – Wise Co.)
80 Years: Sergeant Clarence Lemuel Maynard (1939 – Washington Co.)
85 Years: Trooper Charles Bazil Bullock (1934 – Fairfax Co.)
90 Years: Inspector Curtis Lee Wood (1929 – James City Co.)
90 Years: Inspector Phillip C. Via (1929 – Waynesboro)
Photo: Virginia State Police unveil a portrait of Trooper Lucas Dowell (Virginia State Police)
