Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

David Wynn, Officers Who Died In The Line Of Duty Are Honoured In Cross-Country Services

The Canadian Press, 28 Sep, 2015 10:47 AM
    EDMONTON — As memorial services across Canada recognized peace officers who have died in the line of duty, two cases in northern Alberta this past year showed just how dangerous their jobs can be.
     
    RCMP Const. David Wynn was shot while attempting to apprehend a suspect in a stolen vehicle investigation north of Edmonton in January, while Const. Daniel Woodall was shot and killed in June when he executed an arrest warrant related to hate crimes.
     
    Woodall's name was the last of 100 that were read during a service at the Alberta legislature on Sunday honouring police, sheriffs and conservation officers in the province.
     
    His widow laid the first wreath.
     
    "It's meant a lot seeing all these police families and all the police officers marching. It's a big family, and you can tell it's all a close-knit family and it's always going to be that way," Claire Woodall told reporters after the ceremony.
     
    Woodall and Wynn were also recognized at a national ceremony held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, which also honoured Rhonda Commodore, a Manitoba corrections officer and Toni Kristinsson, a BC Department of Transport enforcement officer, who lost their lives in the past year.
     
    Commodore, 44, was a passenger in a van taking six prisoners from The Pas to Dauphin last November when the driver lost control and she was ejected from the vehicle. Kristinsson, whose job involved checking for such things as loads, licences and insurance, was driving home near the end of his shift in February when his vehicle collided with a commercial transport truck.
     
    Saskatoon police chief Clive Weighill, who is the president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, told the Ottawa ceremony that prayers are said every year at the annual event that no new names will be added to the memorial.
     
    "Sadly this year our wish has not been fulfilled ... we struggle to understand why and we wonder how things might have been," Weighill said.
     
    ""There is little comfort in these thoughts. All we can do to ease our collective loss is to come together as we have today."
     
    This year's memorial service also marked 10 years since the Mayerthorpe tragedy. On March 3, 2005, James Roszko used a military assault rifle to kill four Mounties near the town of Mayerthorpe, Alta.
     
    During the sombre service in Edmonton, an RCMP service dog, Aztec, brought smiles to many faces by barking enthusiastically every time a commander called the hundreds of police and peace officers on the legislature grounds to attention.
     
    "Each and every day, police and peace officers are prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe," said Kathleen Ganley, Alberta's justice minister and solicitor general.
     
    "All police and peace officers have my heartfelt and unending respect and gratitude for the work they do."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Hundreds Stranded, Others Without Power As Slides Hit Northeast Of Pemberton

    Hundreds Stranded, Others Without Power As Slides Hit Northeast Of Pemberton
    Officials with the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District hope to gain a better idea today of how long it will take to repair roads and reach people stranded northeast of Pemberton

    Hundreds Stranded, Others Without Power As Slides Hit Northeast Of Pemberton

    B.C. To Increase Wolf Cull, Says It's The Best Plan To Save Endangered Caribou

    B.C. To Increase Wolf Cull, Says It's The Best Plan To Save Endangered Caribou
    British Columbia is aiming to increase the number of wolves it kills this winter in the second year of a plan to save endangered caribou, prompting criticism from celebrities 

    B.C. To Increase Wolf Cull, Says It's The Best Plan To Save Endangered Caribou

    Dewdney Slough Bridge Near Mission, B.C., Partially Opened With Lower Speed Limit

    Dewdney Slough Bridge Near Mission, B.C., Partially Opened With Lower Speed Limit
    The Transportation Ministry says crews worked around the clock to replace a damaged steel cap in the weakened Dewdney Slough Bridge.

    Dewdney Slough Bridge Near Mission, B.C., Partially Opened With Lower Speed Limit

    Funeral To Be Held Today For Nova Scotia Police Officer Killed Off Duty

    Funeral To Be Held Today For Nova Scotia Police Officer Killed Off Duty
    The service for 36-year-old Catherine Campbell will be held at 2 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in her hometown of Stellarton, N.S.

    Funeral To Be Held Today For Nova Scotia Police Officer Killed Off Duty

    Surrey RCMP Too Slow To Respond, Says Indo-Canadian Activist Meera Gill

    Surrey RCMP Too Slow To Respond, Says Indo-Canadian Activist Meera Gill
    Activist Meera Gill was speaking in connection with the three shootings in one week in Surrey recently, including the shooting between two groups outside an elementary school.

    Surrey RCMP Too Slow To Respond, Says Indo-Canadian Activist Meera Gill

    Winnipeg New Democrat Incumbent Pat Martin Apologizes For Salty Language

    Winnipeg New Democrat Incumbent Pat Martin Apologizes For Salty Language
    NDP incumbent Pat Martin has apologized for salty language on the campaign trail, although it's unclear which of his many recent remarks he is referencing.

    Winnipeg New Democrat Incumbent Pat Martin Apologizes For Salty Language