B.C. officers honoured for valour, commitment to public safety
On April 18, 2023, the following honourees were selected by a committee of representatives from the BC Association of Chiefs of Police and the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General’s police services division.
AWARDS OF VALOUR:
Columbia Valley Detachment
Const. Andrew Henneberry – rescued a paddle boarder in distress from the Columbia River.
Coquitlam Detachment
Sgt. Melvin Wong (now with Surrey detachment), Const. Jonathan Lesperance (now with Sûreté du Québec), Const. Morgan Nevison, Const. Kamaljit Singh Sall – placed themselves at risk during response to a call of a suicidal man firing an assault rifle.
Golden Detachment
Const. Collin Kavanagh – saved a suicidal man from jumping off a bridge.
Kamloops Detachment
Const. Richard Christy – rescued a suicidal woman from the icy waters of the Thompson River.
Const. Ryan McNamara, Const. Mark Pederson (now retired) – placed themselves at risk while dealing with a man armed with a shotgun.
Merritt Detachment
Cpl. Richard Aird, Const. Derek Bodner, Const. Josh Shaughnessy, Const. Cory Smith – responded to gunshot fired outside the detachment and confronted a man armed with a rifle.
Const. David Feller – rescued a family stranded on the roof of their vehicle in the Coldwater River.
Salmon Arm Detachment
Cpl. Jaimie Leverrier, Const. Daniel Booker (now with J Division St. Stephen detachment), Const. Erwin Goerzen (now retired) – placed themselves at risk while responding to a call of an active shooter in a local church.
Surrey Detachment
Cpl. Shaun Van Breugel – removed an unconscious driver from a burning vehicle.
Const. David Smith (now with Midway detachment), name withheld – pursued two armed suspects involved in a fatal shooting.
AWARDS OF MERITORIOUS SERVICE:
Burnaby Detachment
Sgt. Brett Cunningham (now with professional responsibility unit) – negotiated with and prevented a suicidal man from jumping from a highway overpass.
Const. Karanjit Dulay – apprehended a man attempting to light a gas station on fire.
Castlegar Detachment
Const. Andrew Bachmann (now with Smithers detachment), Const. Scott Lafreniere – saved a suicidal woman armed with a knife.
Critical Incident Program and E Division Air Services Branch
Insp. Glen Fishbook, Special Const. Roger Thomson – developed and put into operation a helicopter human external cargo program, a hoist program, and procurement of a new rotary wing platform (Airbus H145).
E Division Operational Strategy Branch
Insp. Veronica Fox (now with E Division, Office of the Commanding Officer), Staff Sgt. Annie Linteau (now retired), Cpl. Stephen Dunn (now with Federal Serious and Organized Crime Border Integrity), Cpl. Jessica MacLean (now with federal operations support group) – developed and delivered a new, innovative and unique format for high school students participating in the Young Women in Public Safety Program.
Federal Serious and Organized Crime, Financial Integrity Unit
Name withheld – exceptional performance during an investigation into a complex, multimillion-dollar stock-market fraud (Project E-Narcose).
Federal Serious and Organized Crime, Vancouver International Airport
Staff Sgt. Michael Kwan (now with Burnaby detachment), Staff Sgt. Shailven Singh, Cpl. Gregory Miller, Cpl. Kimberley Tipert, name withheld – exceptional performance during an investigation involving a transnational trafficking network that was importing drugs through YVR (Project E-Pensum), as well as the proceeds of crime investigation that followed.
Integrated Homicide Investigation Team
Staff Sgt. Dave Fox, Sgt. Ian Blair (now with international operations), Sgt. Eric Kim, Sgt. Harbir Sangha (now with major crime section – special projects), Cpl. Matthew Wakeling, name withheld – exceptional performance during a high-profile investigation into the murder of a young woman (Project E-Palmetto).
Kelowna Detachment
Cpl. Ryan Law (now with Smithers detachment), Const. Shaun Keyes, Const. Kent Wagner, name withheld – stayed with an injured suspect overnight in freezing conditions at the bottom of a gorge until a high-angle rescue team arrived.
Const. Noemi Duru (now with 100 Mile House detachment), Const. Travis Nicholson – provided life-saving medical aid to an unconscious man suffering from a stab wound to the neck.
Const. Christian Fay (now with Campbell River detachment) – saved a suicidal man from jumping off a bridge.
Lake Country Detachment
Const. Peter Hutt, Const. Allison Wanner (now with Kelowna detachment) – saved a suicidal man armed with a knife.
Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team
Cpl. Luke Johnston (now with K Division) – while off duty, affected the high-risk arrest of a suspect who had attacked members of their family.
Lower Mainland Integrated Police Dog Service
Const. Trevor Doylend – placed himself at risk during the response to a call of a suicidal man firing an assault rifle.
Major Crime Section – Special Projects, and Surrey Detachment
Insp. Jeff Bowerman (now with Upper Fraser Valley regional detachment), Staff Sgt. Robert Kurtz (now with criminal intelligence section), Sgt. Derek Bonner, Sgt. Brian Sprott, Const. Kristina Jasmins – concluded an investigation into a gang-related shooting that resulted in the seizure of drugs, firearms and cash.
Merritt Detachment
Const. Dane Duford, name withheld – assisted in the rescue of a family stranded on the roof of their vehicle in the Coldwater River.
Const. Blake Chursinoff – moved a vehicle with a trapped and unconscious driver away from encroaching flames.
Osoyoos Detachment
Const. Brent Greenfield – saved an unconscious suicidal man from smoke-filled vehicle.
Penticton South Okanagan Similkameen Regional Detachment/Penticton Police Dog Services
Cpl. Jason Goodfellow, Cpl. Kyle Richmond (now with Princeton detachment), Cpl. Scott VanEvery, Const. Ryan Shedden (now with Kelowna detachment) – apprehended an armed woman in a stolen vehicle.
Penticton Police Dog Services
Cpl. Jason Goodfellow – apprehended a suspect armed with an axe.
Ridge Meadows Detachment
Cpl. Saudagar Teja – saved a suicidal man from jumping off a bridge.
South East District Emergency Response Team
Const. Carl Kennedy, Const. Dave Lewis (now with West Shore Detachment), Const. Landon Weekes – provided life-saving medical aid to a suspect.
Surrey Detachment
Const. Michael Jason Lee – exceptional performance during an investigation spanning 30 years of domestic violence.
Trail Detachment
Const. Christopher Channing – provided life-saving medical aid to the victim of a stabbing.
Vernon/North Okanagan Detachment
Const. Kerri Parish (now with Lake Country detachment) – rescued a drowning woman from Okanagan Lake.
Vernon/North Okanagan Police Dog Service
Cpl. Brady Kyle – fought off the effects of bear spray to apprehend a man suffering a mental-health episode.
White Rock Detachment
Cpl. David Brown, Const. Travis Anderson (now with Federal Serious and Organized Crime Pacific Shiprider), Const. Alexander Kwon (now with serious crime unit), name withheld – ensured people were evacuated from the collapsing White Rock Pier during severe weather.