Flyer staff photo

FAYETTEVILLE — More signage will eventually be installed on the west side of town in honor of Stephen Carr, the fallen police officer who was killed in 2019 after being shot behind the police station in downtown Fayetteville.

City Council members on Tuesday approved a $25,000 budget adjustment for Stephen Carr Memorial Boulevard signage to be placed along Interstate 49 near the Porter Road exit.

The street section of Porter Road between Deane Street and Mount Comfort Road was renamed in December in honor of Carr. The road runs past the site of the new police headquarters facility that’s currently under construction (see map below).

When the street was renamed, council members said the location is fitting, partially because the new headquarters is being built to protect officers.

Enlarge map

Carr was ambushed by a gunman who shot him 10 times in the head while he was sitting in his patrol vehicle in the open parking lot behind the current police station. The new facility will include a gated area for patrol vehicles to keep officers safe during shift changes.

The 82,630-square-foot facility will also include a bronze memorial sculpture of Carr based on a photo that shows the officer comforting an abandoned dog who was left tied to a bench on Dickson Street. Carr later adopted the dog and named it “Red.”

During Carr’s funeral, Police Chief Mike Reynolds promised the officer would forever be remembered in Fayetteville.

An aerial photo from early March shows the construction site of a new police headquarters facility that’s being built along Stephen Carr Memorial Boulevard, along with a new fire station

City of Fayetteville

“As police chief, I make this vow,” Reynolds said at the time. “Stephen Carr, badge number 413, will not be forgotten.”

The I-49 signage won’t be installed until work associated with the state’s upcoming Wedington Drive interchange improvement project is complete, according to a staff memo. The timeline for completion of that project has not yet been announced.