WATERTOWN, NY — Assemblyman Mark Walczyk (R,C-Watertown) is proud to announce his legislation (A.8523) honoring fallen local Police Chief Samuel A. Johnson, Sr. of the Village of Dexter has been passed by the state Assembly and is on its way to becoming law. The bill would rename a portion of State Highway 180 crossing the Black River in honor of the late officer who was shot and killed in the line of duty on September 11, 1987.
“Chief Johnson made the ultimate sacrifice protecting his community. Paying tribute to him in this way is the least we can do to ensure his legacy lives on and we remember his heroism forever,” said Walczyk.
The bill will ensure that the state highway crossing the Black River from the Village of Dexter in the Town of Brownville and into the Town of Hounsfield within Jefferson County will be renamed in Chief Johnson’s honor. Once signed into law, the state Department of Transportation will install signage designating the highway and bridge along that portion of the road as the “Chief Samuel A. Johnson, Sr. Memorial Bridge.”