3 Windsor police officers recognized as finalists for policing, community awards | CBC News
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Const. Jeff Loewen has been a police officer for almost 30 years. Over those years, he’s seen a lot — but he says working with a local charity helps him give back.
“A lot of these things that I do and have done are because that’s where I really feel like I [give] back,” said Loewen.
“To me, the community involvement thing is a big part of dealing with the things we see and do every day.”
Loewen was one of three officers recognized on Tuesday as a finalist for the Police Association of Ontario Hero of the Year awards. The provincial awards recognize officers for their outstanding work on the job and in the community.
Loewen was nominated for his work with Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a charity that builds beds for kids in need in Windsor-Essex. The organization works to supply children in need with handmade beds in Windsor and Essex County.
In the last two years, more than 350 beds have been built and donated to kids in the Windsor-Essex community.
“We estimate up or upwards of 1,900 children in Windsor and Essex County don’t have proper sleeping arrangements,” Loewen said.
“Having a sanctuary of their own, having a place to get good rest for their minds and bodies … is very important in their development.
“So giving, doing what I do and helping provide these kids with beds and their own sanctuary to be in, that’s important.”
There to recognize the officers was Mark Baxter, president of the Police Association of Ontario.
“That’s why we started this awards presentation … so that we could recognize what we already knew, which was the outstanding work that so many of our members are doing in communities across Ontario every day and getting those stories out into our communities,” Baxter said.
Also recognized were retired Const. Terry Dodich, who was a finalist for the 2023 Extra Mile award, recognizing an officer who goes above and beyond their normal duties, and Sgt. Nathan Harris, a finalist for the Police Hero Honour Roll award.
Dodich was instrumental in solving the murder of six-year-old Ljubica Topic, killed in Windsor in 1971. Until it was solved in 2019, Topic’s case was the oldest cold case in Canadian history.
Dodich worked to solve the case using genealogy and DNA from the crime scene.
The CBC’s Jason Viau explains why police are reversing course and now naming the killer in a cold case they solved in 2019.
“It took Const. Dodich over 1,000 hours to accomplish this, often working from home and on his own time,” Baxter read from Dodich’s nomination package.
“In and of itself, that would be an impressive feat, but his contributions are even more monumental in light of Terry’s recent diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.”
Dodich recently retired after spending more than 30 years with the Windsor Police Service.
“I just wanted to say that that installed in that case was probably the biggest, most important thing that I did in my career,” he said, thanking fellow officers Windsor police administration.
Sgt. Nathan Harris was recognized as a finalist for the Police Hero Honour Roll award. Harris’ volunteer service includes basketball and baseball coaching, starting a local Secret Santa program with his wife, and working with Project LifeSaver, a search-and-rescue program.
But Harris was also severely injured after a traffic stop several years ago. According to Harris’ sister, who nominated him for the award, Harris spent eight months in a wheelchair before learning to walk again.
“It’s been a long few years for myself and for my family,” Harris said. “We’ve gone through a lot with the accident that I was involved in, took a lot to get back.
“But I’m just glad that I was able to come and get back to work and doing what I love.”
Windsor police chief Jason Bellaire was also there to help honour the officers.
“I think it speaks so highly to your integrity and to the character of each of you, with each of the different stories about not who you are as a police officer as much as who you are as a person that you bring to this role as a police officer,” he said. “It’s really special, it’s really important and it really makes me proud to be your colleague.”
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