A bridge dedication ceremony will be held Thursday, March 28th to honor the memory of North Carolina Highway Patrolman Lawrence Canipe Jr. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. at Covey Rock Freewill Baptist Church. The ceremony will dedicate the bridge in his name and is open to the community to pay respects and remember his service.
On Saturday, October 5, 1974 Patrolman Lawrence Canipe and Sergeant W. Dean Arledge were shot and killed in the basement of the Buncombe County Courthouse.
Sergeant Arledge was assisting Patrolman Canipe to administer a breathalyzer test when the suspect was able to gain control of one of the officers’ handguns and shot them both. The suspect was apprehended the next day by a deputy sheriff in Asheville.
The suspect was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder on March 28th, 1975, and sentenced to two life terms. He died in prison on September 5th, 1995.
Patrolman Canipe was a U.S Air Force veteran and had served with the North Carolina Highway Patrol for eight years before his death at age 32. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Canipe of Green Mountain.
