Dozens gathered in an Aurora church on Tuesday to honour OPP Const. Paul Patterson, who died in the line of duty 37 years ago.

Cars pass under and along the King Road Bridge on Highway 400 and although there are no physical changes planned for the bridge, drivers may look at the overpass differently because it's now known as the Const. Paul Patterson Memorial Bridge.

“The family was very honoured and very touched by it all. Glad it's happening,” says Paul’s brother, Rich Patterson. “It's a bitter sweet day and very important to the family.”

On Oct. 28, 1978, Patterson was pursuing a dangerous driver.

“As the vehicle came over a crest of the hill, the suspect's had bailed out of their vehicle, just out of sight, and as the officer came over that crest, he saw the vehicle, swerved to avoid it and unfortunately rolled his vehicle into the ditch where he sustained fatal injuries,” says OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt.

Patterson was just 22-years-old and had always wanted to be a police officer just like his father and his grandfather.

Rich Patterson is a retired OPP detective and says people knew his brother was a great police officer and he reminds them he was a great brother too.

“Very competitive in nature; always wanted to do the right thing and I think he'd be happy by all this today. He probably died doing exactly what he wanted to do.”