Section 1. Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Joseph R. Pokorny,
Jr., Memorial Highway.
(a) Declaration of policy.--The General Assembly finds and declares that:
(1) Joseph R. Pokorny, Jr., was born August 27, 1960, in
Uniontown, Pennsylvania, graduated from Center Area High
School in 1978 and enlisted in the Pennsylvania State Police
Academy on July 5, 1983.
(2) Following graduation from the academy, Trooper
Pokorny was assigned to Troop B, Washington, and in 1990 was
detached to the Greensburg Tactical Narcotic Team where he
remained for ten years.
(3) On September 2, 2000, he was promoted to the rank of
corporal, transferred to Troop T, Newville Station. Corporal
Pokorny returned to Troop B in 2001, serving at the Belle
Vernon Station and Washington Headquarters.
(4) Corporal Pokorny's final assignment was Troop B,
Pittsburgh Station, in 2004, where he served as a patrol unit
supervisor.
(5) Corporal Pokorny served this Commonwealth with
bravery and distinction until his death on December 12, 2005,
after being shot two times shortly after 2:00 A.M. when he
stopped a car for speeding on SR 279 in Allegheny County.
Corporal Pokorny died at the scene.
(6) At 45 years of age, Corporal Joseph R. Pokorny, Jr.,
a 22-year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police, was the
91st member of the department to be killed in the line of
duty.
(b) Designation.--The portion of State Route 279, segment number 5, offset 1875, in Carnegie Borough, Allegheny County, shall be designated the Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Joseph R. Pokorny, Jr., Memorial Highway.
(c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and maintain appropriate signs displaying the name of the highway to traffic in both directions.