‘It comes with the job’: P.E.I. police pay tribute to fallen officers | CBC News

It’s a harsh truth police officers are well aware of when they decide to make a career in law enforcement — they are putting their lives at risk.

“A lot of people know somebody who has died in the line of duty,” said Mike O’Neill, past president of the RCMP Veterans’ Association on P.E.I.

“Unfortunately, it comes with the job.”

O’Neill was one of many current and retired police officers, as well as dignitaries and members of the public, who attended the annual Police and Peace Officers’ Memorial Service on Sunday at Holy Redeemer Church in Charlottetown.

It came two days after RCMP Const. Rick O’Brien was shot and killed and two officers were injured while executing a search warrant in Coquitlam, B.C., about 30 kilometres east of Vancouver.

‘It makes them feel good’

Wreaths were laid for O’Brien and the roughly 876 other police officers in Canada who have died on the job.

O’Neill said it takes a special kind of person to put their lives on the line every day.

“If you’re incapable of helping people, you cannot do that job. So you must be totally vigilant all the time,” he said.

A national police memorial day has been held in Canada since 1984. While officers may not show it, O’Neill said they appreciate the recognition.

“It makes them feel good,” he said. “Sometimes people are not that nice, and unfortunately you have to find the silver lining or the gold lining in the clouds and make the best of it.”