Samuel A. Johnson Sr. was the Chief of Police in Dexter, New York, with thirteen years on the force when he was killed on a September evening in 1987. He had responded to a shots-fired call on Pillar Point. As his patrol car slowed to make a turn, a man who had already murdered a friend ambushed the chief and fired a shotgun into the vehicle. The patrol car crashed into a guardrail and Chief Johnson was left in the wrecked car as the assailant approached, fired several more times, and took the chief’s service weapon and radio before fleeing.

Other units could not reach Chief Johnson on the radio and then discovered the scene. A high-speed pursuit ended with the suspect being shot and wounded. He later pleaded guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to a state hospital. The State Highway 180 bridge was later renamed the Samuel A. Johnson Memorial Bridge in his honor.

Are there memories of Chief Johnson or details about the 1987 response that anyone in the community can share?