Slain N.C. Hospital Police Officer Remembered for Heroism, Kindness

As many await answers about the fatal shooting of WakeMed police officer Roger Smith, memories of his kindness and service have filled the halls and the town he once patrolled.

“He will be remembered for his compassion, his dedication to others, his kind smile, his friendship and his heroism,” reads a post by WakeMed Health & Hospitals’ Facebook page.

Smith, whose local law enforcement service goes back three decades, died at the WakeMed campus in Garner after a shooting inside the emergency department’s lobby on Saturday morning. Staff who were nearby on Saturday described Smith “as a hero” and his actions “likely prevented further loss of life,” according to the Garner Police Department.

Smith was remembered for years after he left Knightdale for the kindness that extended beyond the standard duties that come with the police uniform, said resident Sylvia Warren, who got to know the late officer when he patrolled the small town many years ago.

“He was also a great friend to anybody,” said Warren, 73.

In the hours after the shooting, police said they charged Benji Martin Jr., 29, of Garner, with first-degree murder. No details were released as of Monday afternoon about what led to the shooting.

But people who knew Smith shared remembrances in statements and in interviews, describing Smith as kind and attentive to those he protected.

30 years of police service

Smith first earned law enforcement certification in the state working as a police officer for WakeMed in 1994, according to information in the N.C. Justice Training and Certification Portal. He moved to the Knightdale Police Department in 1996, before returning to WakeMed in 2014.

“Officer Roger Smith was a towering figure whose stature was matched by his giant heart. He is fondly remembered for his unwavering kindness and dedication to our community,” said Knightdale Police Chief Lawrence Capps in a statement.

Smith, who lived and worked in Knightdale, “left a warm and lasting impression on those who knew him best, and the people of Knightdale will be forever grateful for his selfless contributions,” Capps said.

Beyond his work as a police officer, Smith was a “loving son and devoted caregiver,” to his mother, who he has been taking care of in recent years, says a description of a fundraiser for Smith’s family set by law enforcement support organization Back The Blue NC.

Warren, the Knightdale resident, told The News & Observer that she met Smith when she started working the graveyard shift at a Shell gas station in the town about 20 years ago. Smith would stop by and talk about “anything and everything” during the still nighttime hours, she said.

One time, as she stood behind Smith in a Food Lion checkout line, the woman in front of Smith didn’t have enough to pay her bill. The woman started to put stuff back, but Smith stopped her, Warren said.

“No, no, no.” Warren recalled Smith telling the woman. And this: “Go ahead. I got you.”

He would just “do things like that,” Warren said.

One night when Smith was off duty, a man came in and pointed a sawed-off shotgun at Warren and robbed the gas station, she said. Smith must have heard about the robbery on the radio because he pulled up in the middle of the night in his personal car just to check on her, Warren said.

“He ran up to me and said, ‘Are you OK?,’” Warren said.

Recognized for his good works

In 2012, Smith was named Knightdale’s top Crisis Intervention Team officer of the year, The News & Observer reported. The program helps police officers develop a compassionate and safer approach to interacting with people who have a mental illness or developmental disability crisis.

In 2007, the then-president-elect of the Wake County affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness described seeing Smith help a woman experiencing symptoms of mental illness.

“Officer Smith showed what I would describe as ‘very firm patience’ in managing this situation without the use of physical force. The result was helpful when it could have been hurtful,” Kathy Smith wrote in letter to the editor published by the N&O.

Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism.

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