A sombre day of remembrance was marked on Sunday as thousands gathered on the lawn of Parliament Hill to mark the loss of police officers killed in the line of duty in the last year at the Canadian Police and Peace Officers’ National Memorial Service. Among those mourned at the ceremony were correctional officer Nicholae Serban, OPP officer Tarun Bali, Montreal police Cont. Mohamed Benreouane, OPP Sgt. Brandon Malcolm, Toronto police Const. Marc Pinizzotto, and Sûreté du Québec Sgt. Anaïs Fortin-Cozzens. Stephen Boucher, national service coordinator for the Canadian Police and Peace Officers’ National Memorial, says officers and families from coast to coast have arrived to attend the service on Parliament Hill. Boucher says the ceremony is about supporting the families in their grief. “They’re not just names. They’re humans,” he said. “They were moms and dads and brothers and sisters. They had lives. It’s important for us to recognize those lives.” Gatineau SQ police officer honoured Among the officers honoured is a Sûreté du Québec officer from Gatineau killed in March, Sgt. Anaïs Fortin-Cozzens. Fortin-Cozzens died following a collision on Route 138 in Portneuf-sur-Mer, about 300 kilometres north of Quebec City. The former major crimes investigator was described as a dedicated community member and officer. “In each of her assignments, she demonstrated remarkable professional rigor and a steadfast commitment to speaking the truth and protecting the public,” said retired Det. Theresa Kelm with the Ottawa Police Service, the master of ceremonies for the event. Fortin-Cozzens was also dedicated to her family, explains Kelm from the podium, leaving behind her wife and three children, and her parents. “Her name will forever remain in the memory of the Sûreté du Québec, and in the hearts of those who knew her,” said Kelm. Retired Insp. Alan Burns comes every year. He spent 34 years as a police officer before his retirement and has been coming since he was a recruit to support the families. “To remember what the sacrifices that police officers have given and peace officers have given in their line of duty for our communities,” he said. “It’s quite emotional, it’s very emotional… As a community, as a policing community and as a general public community, we want to honor that sacrifice.” The ceremony comes one day after runners and cyclists finished a three-day memorial run from Toronto to Ottawa to honour police officers who died in the line of duty.
