Officers remember police killed in the line of duty
Nearly two dozen people, many of them officers, from across Simcoe County came together Sunday to honour police who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Police forces from across the country have been participating in the 'Run to Remember this week. The event, typically a three-day run from a memorial in Toronto to one in Ottawa, has been scaled back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"COVID is a very fluid situation, but we're going to continue to do what we can to continue this run, to continue to pay tribute to those officers," says Barrie Police Detective Constable Sarah Bamford who has been participating for seven years. "So hopefully next year, we can get back to that norm and do that run to Ottawa."
Bamford was one of nearly two dozen who gathered at the Nottawasaga OPP Detachment, where participants held the scaled-down version for this area. The Barrie police officer was joined by OPP officers and members from Base Borden, all doing their part to remember the lives lost in the line of duty.
"We may have lost officers from various services, detachments across the country, but at the end of the day, we are one family, and we are here to support each other."
Also participating at the Simcoe event was Erin Ochakovksy, the founder of SOLE, the Survivors of Law Enforcement. Ochakovksy lost her husband, Peel Regional Police Constable James Ochakovksy, more than 10 years ago.
"In the line of duty where they go to work, you say goodbye I'll see you at the end of your shift, and they don't come home; it makes everything kind of go black," Ochakovsky says.
Ochakovksy says gatherings like this are important. While more than a decade has gone by since she lost her husband, she says the connection she has formed as the widow of a fallen officer hasn't wavered, acknowledging events like Saturdays are essential.
"Being able to tell our children that our loved ones will never be forgotten and then show them through the memorial run and through the memorials is something that I'm so grateful for because my son never has to ask what his dad did for a living and how he lost is life was for nothing," she says.
For more information, click here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.