BLACK NC MASTER TROOPER
DIES “IN THE LINE OF DUTY”
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Since the NC Highway Patrol was created in 1929, there have been 73 deaths in the line of duty, according to the NC Highway Patrol Retirees Association.
Early Sunday morning, is when the 73rd patrolman lost his life.
Master Trooper Stien Davis, Jr., assigned to Troop B, District 7 in Robeson County, was killed in a single-vehicle collision shortly after midnight on Sunday, according to the NC Highway Patrol. Reportedly, he was on duty, traveling in his patrol vehicle on N.C. Highway 130 when he apparently lost control of his vehicle, veered off the roadway and overturned in a swampy area.
"Master Trooper Davis was a member of the 141st Basic Patrol School and served our state and the Robeson County area with distinction," a statement from Colonel Freddy Johnson, Jr. said. "Any forthcoming details related to his passing as well as information related to a celebration of life ceremony will be shared as we move forward."
Gov. Josh Stein offered his condolences upon word of Master Trooper Davis’s death.
“My heart goes out this morning to the family of Master Trooper Stien Davis, the NC State Highway Patrol, and the entire law enforcement community mourning the loss of a son, a friend, and a colleague,” Stein said. “I’ve offered Colonel Johnson any support the Patrol may need during this difficult time.”
The NC Highway Patrol - which has 1600 state troopers that cover 80,000 miles of NC highways - became a separate Cabinet agency in July 2025.
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GOV. STEIN CALLS FOR
BLACK MONUMENT IN
STATE BUDGET PROPOSAL
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
If and when the Republican-led NC General Assembly finally passes a 2025-27 budget, one of the things Gov. Josh Stein would like to see in it is funding for a monument honoring African-America contributions to North Carolina’s history that had been slated for the State Capitol grounds.
Now, with the country celebrating its 250th anniversary, the question is being asked again, will the monument to Black North Carolinians ever be erected?
The monument was originally funded by the NC General Assembly in 2019, but the budget that year was never ratified. Plus in 2020, after the police murder of George Floyd, numerous protests across the nation and in North Carolina, saw several Confederate statues be taken down by demonstrators, and also then Gov. Roy Cooper.
Republicans were not pleased, and even though an African-American monument would be included in various House and Senate budget proposals over the past six years, nothing has transpired. However, there are House proposals to erect monuments honoring the late evangelist Billy Graham and the Revolutionary War as soon as a new state budget is passed.
Now, in Black History Month 2026, the question is being asked again - will North Carolina ever erect a monument in honor of African-American contributions to North Carolina history?
Gov. Stein told the Raleigh News & Observer recently that despite the legislature’s budget delay, he still wants to see the monument on State Capitol grounds.
“I think the Capitol ground — it’s sacred public ground that should reflect the entirety of North Carolina. And obviously the African American experience in North Carolina has been critical to who we are, and it should be reflected,” Stein said, adding that he intends to have the African-American monument in his 2026 budget proposal to present to the NC General Assembly in coming weeks when it returns to session.
To date, Republicans in the legislature have demonstrated an inclination to ignore many of Gov. Stein’s budget proposals, just as they did former Gov. Cooper before him.
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