Last Sunday, 22 died during a murderous rampage by a gunman in Nova Scotia; one of them was RCMP Constable Heidi Stevenson. And today, which is the National Day of Mourning for those who have lost their lives as a result of work-related incidents, Cobourg Police Chief Paul VandeGraaf asked their Pipes and Drums band to help them honour their fellow officer.
The band was smaller than usual with 11 members – 6 pipers and 5 drummers – but did their usual great job. They marched down King Street to the Police Station where a large number of Police gathered – a good representation. Included in the group of about 30 were senior officers and the Police Board – including Chair Dean Pepper. The band as well as the officers all maintained social distancing.
The ceremony consisted of a rendition of Amazing Grace followed by a minute’s silence and a short speech by the Chief recognizing Constable Stevenson. In what seemed like an opportune moment, the Town’s clock could be heard chiming 11 o’clock. The band then marched off.
There were few spectators – perhaps 20 – but then there was little publicity and crowds would not be allowed with the current situation.
If you saw flags at half-mast at the Hospital and County buildings, it was for the Day of Mourning although Police flags were at half-mast because of this event.
Below is a video of the event.
More information
Looks like I missed some of the details on this event – it was not simply for the officer killed recently in Nova Scotia but was for all officers killed in the line of duty. My source for information was from a band member – I reported what they were told. There were no advance details provided to media by the Police.
Here are additional details from Lisa Munday, Cobourg Police Communication coordinator.
The ceremony today was for the Ontario Police Memorial Ceremony of Remembrance honouring police officers killed in the line of duty in Ontario. Usually, we would be attending the ceremony at Queen’s Park in Toronto, but the event has been cancelled due to COVID-19. Police Services across Ontario are putting together small videos of Amazing Grace to post on May 3rd as a virtual event. Today’s footage will be posted on our social media channels on Sunday, May 3rd.
Details for the virtual event are below for more information.
Facebook link.
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John… thanks so much for presenting this video. It’s the least we can do, as a small town, to show our appreciation to our own force and sympathy, for a fallen police officer, from another force.