1937-07-20
Age: 36
Rank: Sergeant
Service: Sudbury Police
On July 11, 1937, Sergeant Davidson attempted to question two men who were changing licence plates on a vehicle on the street. One of the men pulled a gun and shot Sgt. Davidson six times, twice in the head and four in the back. Fatally wounded, he died in hospital nine days later. He was able, however, to identify his attackers prior to his death from photographs. The suspects were Victor Gray and Tom Ponomanenko who were subsequently cornered by a police patrol near the Spanish River railway bridge. Gray was killed in the shooting that followed and Ponomanenko, wounded. He was charged and convicted of murder and hanged in Sudbury at midnight January 22, 1938.