Police and Peace Officers’ Memorial Service honours 13 fallen officers this year

Police officers from across the country gathered in Ottawa Sunday for a somber occasion.

The last Sunday in September is the National Police and Peace Officers’ Memorial Day, where those who died in the line of duty in the past year are remembered.

Thirteen names were added to the honour roll this year, including 11 from the last year: Toronto Police Service Const. Andrew Hong, South Simcoe Police Service constables Devon Northrup and Morgan Russell, RCMP constables Shaelyn Yang and Harvinder Dhami, Ontario Provincial Police Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala, Sgt. Eric Mueller, and Det. Const. Steven Tourangeau, Edmonton Police Service constables Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan, and Sûreté du Québec Sgt. Maureen Breau.

Also added this year are two “historical” names: Canada Customs Officer James Mowat (1913) and RCMP Const. Vernon Genaille (2002).

The memorial service came just two days after RCMP Const. Rick O’Brien was shot and killed in Coquitlam, B.C.

Officers marched in a parade down Wellington Street before arriving at Parliament Hill for the memorial service, during which Governor General Mary Simon and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc delivered remarks. Retired Ottawa Police Service Det. Theresa Kelm led the ceremony.

“It is important for us to remember and honour those officers who lost their lives in the line of duty,” said Simon.

“Every day, police and police officers, such as yourselves and those we have lost, help keep our communities safe. You do so without seeking praise or recognition. You do so because it is your duty. You do so because it is a commitment you have made to your communities.”

The service ended with a procession past the memorials for the fallen officers.

Who are the fallen officers?

Toronto Police Const. Andrew Hong was shot and killed Sept. 12, 2022 at a Mississauga Tim Hortons. He was a 22-year veteran of the Toronto Police Service. He died in what police called a “shooting spree” that also killed another man. Hong was 48.

South Simcoe Constables Devon Northrup and Morgan Russell were killed on Oct. 11, 2022, while responding to a call for a domestic dispute in Innisfil, Ont. Northrup was 33 years old and had been with the force for six years. Russell was 54, a 33-year police veteran, a husband and father to two teenage children.

RCMP Constable Shaelyn Yang was stabbed to death Oct. 18, 2022 after responding to a call about a man in a tent at a park in Burnaby, B.C. She was 31, and had moved to Canada from Taiwan at a young age.

Const. Shaelyn Yang of the Burnaby RCMP detachment was killed in the line of duty on Oct. 18, 2022. (B.C. RCMP)

RCMP Const. Harvinder Dhami, 32, died in a crash near the Saskatchewan River in Alberta on April 10, 2023, while driving to assist other officers with a noise complaint. His vehicle struck a concrete barrier and he died at the scene. Dhami, known as “Harvey” by his colleagues, was a “hard-working go-getter.”

Const. Harvinder Dhami

OPP Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala died in the line of duty on Dec. 27, 2022, the day he completed his probationary period with the Ontario Provincial Police. He was shot and killed while responding to a call for an incapacitated vehicle near Hagersville, Ont. He was 28.

OPP Sgt. Eric Mueller responded to a shooting call in Bourget, Ont. on May 11, 2023, where he and two other officers were “ambushed and shot” according to OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique. Mueller was 42, and was described by his colleagues as a coach, a mentor, someone that everybody looked up to.

OPP Sgt. Eric Mueller was killed in the line of duty Thursday morning. OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique says Mueller died after being shot in Bourget, Ont. (OPP/release)

OPP Det. Const. Steven Tourangeau died May 29, 2023, when his unmarked cruiser hit a school bus near Woodstock, Ont. The school bus driver was also killed in the crash. Torangeau was 35.

Det. Const. Steven Tourangeau was killed in a collision involving an unmarked cruiser and school bus on May 29, 2023. (OPP)

Edmonton Police constables Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan were shot and killed on March 16 while responding to a family dispute. The suspect was a 16-year-old boy. Jordan, 35, had served with the Edmonton Police Service for eight-and-a-half years, and Ryan, 30, had been with the force for five-and-a-half years.

Sûreté du Québec Sgt. Maureen Breau died March 27, 2023 in Louiseville, Que., about 100 km north of Montreal. The 20-year veteran of the force was stabbed while serving an arrest warrant. The 42-year-old was remembered as a mother, a daughter, and a policewoman who dedicated her career to keeping people safe.

Sgt. Maureen Breau, killed during an arrest, had been on the force for 20 years.

–With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Natalie van Rooy, CTV News Toronto, CTV News Barrie, CTV News Edmonton, CTV News Vancouver, CTV News Montreal, and The Canadian Press.