Five more names added to Ontario Police Memorial on Sunday

Five more names were added to the Ontario Police Memorial on Sunday, honouring those who are killed in the line of duty.

The sacrifices of Const. Andrew Hong of the Toronto Police Service, Const. Devon Northrup and Const. Morgan Russell of the South Simcoe Police Service, Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala of the Ontario Provincial Police, and Const. Vicki Lynn Wilson of the Durham Regional Police Service were recognized during a ceremony at the Wall of Honour.

Hong, a 22-year veteran motorcycle officer, was on his lunch break in a coffee shop in Mississauga when he was approached by a man carrying a gun and fatally shot in September 2022 what police say was an ambush attack.

Northrup and Russell were killed while responding to a disturbance at a home in Innisfil, Ont., in October 2022.

Pierzchala was shot and killed after stopping to check on a vehicle that had become stuck in a ditch in Hagersville, Ont., in December 2022. He had just passed a 10-month probation period that allowed him to patrol solo as a permanent member of the OPP.

Wilson is a historical addition to the Wall of Honour. She was killed when her cruiser was involved in a car crash in Oshawa in December 1992.

“More than the names etched in stone on these walls, this ceremony is about the lives these officers lived,” said Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell.

“All of the funerals and memorial services that we attended this past year, at all of them we made a most solemn pledge. A pledge to never forget the memories of those officers, to never forget their service to our province, and most of all to never forget their families and our responsibility to them.”

Premier Doug Ford took the opportunity to reiterate that his government is doing all it can to keep frontline officers safe, having called on the federal government to initiate bail reform.

“One name alone is too many, five is a tragedy,” said Ford. “Collectively – municipally, provincially and federally – we can avoid a few of these losses by making sure we make the appropriate changes to protect our police officers and we need to do it immediately.”

The province recently announced it would invest $112 million to create dedicated teams in police forces across the province to deal with “high risk” offenders.

“These losses are a stark reminder that our women and men in uniform put everything on the line the moment they walk out the doors,” he said.

Thousands of uniformed police officers from across Ontario, Canada, the United States, and Europe marched along Queen’s Park Crescent for the annual Ceremony of Remembrance.

Sunday’s additions bring the total number of names memorialized to 277.

We gather today with thousands of police personnel at the Ontario Police Memorial to remember those brave officers that were taken far too soon. Today, we sadly add five more names to that Wall. We will remember that they were #HeroesinLife not death @HeroesInLife pic.twitter.com/VN1OA4O2mK

— Chief Jim MacSween (@chiefmacsween) May 7, 2023

Approximately 150 members of our Service are in Toronto this morning to honour four Heroes in Life who died in the line of duty in 2022. The Ontario Police Memorial Foundation’s annual Ceremony of Remembrance is now in its 24th year. pic.twitter.com/sgkujbSwqh

— Halton Police (@HaltonPolice) May 7, 2023

Honouring fallen officers at @HeroesInLife Ontario Police Memorial in Toronto. Today the historical name of @DRPS member Cst. Vicki Wilson was added to the Wall of Honour along with others. Our members marched with other police services from across the province. #HeroesInLife. pic.twitter.com/zq6t9rckFl

— Durham Regional Police (@DRPS) May 7, 2023

Today we will be attending the Ontario Police Memorial Foundation Ceremony of Remembrance in Toronto to honour officers who died in the line of duty.
This year, the names of our Constables Morgan Russell and Devon Northrup will be added to the Memorial Wall. #HeroesInLife pic.twitter.com/agibZGNZaG

— South Simcoe Police (@SouthSimcoePS) May 7, 2023