BACKGROUND

Attached for the information of the Board are excerpts from letters of appreciation / thanks received from the public since the last regular meeting, for services rendered by members of the Ottawa Police Service.

Vern White,

Chief of Police

Attach. (1)

LETTERS OF COMMENDATION

Date Received: 26 July 2010

From: Francois Delattre, Ambassador of France

OPS Member: Inspector Ty Cameron

Excerpts from Letter: We hosted a reception at our Embassy and would like to extend our thanks to Inspector Cameron for his assistance at our event.

Date Received: 27 July 2010

From: Building Code Enforcement Officer, City of Ottawa

OPS Members: Sergeant Andrew Roach, Constable Hak Hor Taing, Constable Sam Roberts, and Constable Hartt Danford

Excerpts from Email: From time to time, the assistance of your police officers is required to assist in the performance of our duties. We appear to have no problem expressing our frustrations when something goes wrong, but take little time to express our appreciation and gratitude when something goes well. With the assistance of Sgt. Roach, Cst. Taing, Cst. Roberts, and Cst. Danford, we were able to successfully execute another search warrant with no incident. I am always taken back of the level of professionalism, organization, dedication and willingness to assist to ensure my safety and safety of everyone on site. Again it was certainly with the assistance of your officers that we continue having success without incidents.

Date Received: 05 August 2010

From: Member of the Public

OPS Members: Sergeant Robert Bernier and Constable Darwin Turner

Excerpts from Letter: I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sgt. Bernier and Cst. Turner for giving of their own time to become Honour Guards at the Memorial Service of my husband. Those attending were most impressed by their presence as they lent respect and elegance to the occasion. Please thank them for me.

Date Received: 10 August 2010

From: Member of the Public

OPS Member: Constable Brenda Milloy

Excerpts from Letter: I want to let you know how much we appreciate Cst. Milloy’s assistance with my daughter’s school project on community helpers. My daughter had recently developed an interest in police work and was quite excited about a school project to interview a community helper. However, my daughter can be extremely shy. As parents, we were concerned about how my daughter’s shyness might affect the interview and thus her school project. Cst. Milloy helped my daughter with her shyness and answered questions on police work and her experiences in the job. Her answers to my daughter’s questions were honest, age appropriate and quite inspiring. Cst. Milloy went further by giving my daughter police tattoos and coloring books for her class. I cannot tell you how well my daughter’s presentation went and how proud we were as parents. We believe that the confidence and ease emanated from how well the interview with Cst. Milloy went. Our daughter’s teacher kept the bristle board of her presentation up until the end of the school year because the class was so excited about what they had learned. The girls in the class seemed inspired by the fact that Cst. Milloy was the first woman in her family to join the police department. I cannot tell you how much we appreciate all that Cst. Milloy has done.

Date Received: 12 August 2010

From: Member of the Public

OPS Member: Constable Paolo Crescenzi

Excerpts from Letter: I would like to thank Constable Crescenzi who came to assist two soaked and bewildered seniors find their car.

Date Received: 22 September 2010

From: Dave Bellringer, Detective Sergeant, Provincial ROPE Squad

OPS Member: Constable Mannix Velho

Excerpts from Letter: I would like to take this opportunity to extend our appreciation and recognize the dedication to duty of Ottawa Police Service Constable Velho. The ROPE East Team had been investigating a parolee who was arrested in Ottawa. In the 12 days that the suspect was at large, ROPE had followed up numerous leads but not located the individual. Constable Velho observed a male who was believed to be the suspect in the City of Ottawa and phoned Constable Ritchie of the East ROPE Team and confirmed that the suspect was still wanted. Constable Velho contacted Ottawa Police who dispatched officers to the location. When the first uniform officer arrived on the scene, the suspect fled on foot. Constable Velho gave chase and was able to catch the suspect with assistance from the uniform officer. I would like to also express my appreciation to Constable Velho for his ability to utilize all the available information from a variety of sources that ultimately removes a career criminal from our communities.

Date Received: 24 September 2010

From: Member of the Public

OPS Members: Staff Sergeant Monique Perras, Sergeant Brian Mieske, Constable Christie Scheerder, Constable Peter McKenna, Constable Caroline Tessier, Constable Matthew Clarke, Constable Michael Compton, Constable Alain Cammaert, Constable Trevor MacMillan and Constable Paul Bosley

Excerpts from Letter: My husband was proud to serve the Ottawa community as a member of the Ottawa Police Service for forty years, retiring at the rank of Superintendent in 1989. He passed away recently. My husband often quipped that he had organized so many funerals, parades and escorts that there would be no one to remember him when he was gone. I was heartened to see that he was wrong. He was remembered, loved and celebrated in a way that would have made him burst with pride. I would first like to thank S/Sgt Perras. My daughter was employed by the OPS for many years and knew that S/Sgt Perras had some fond memories of working with my husband. S/Sgt Perras graciously agreed to prepare and present the eulogy at the funeral and to do it in both languages, as my husband is francophone. She delivered an eloquent, entertaining and touching eulogy in such a classy way – she went far beyond our expectations. The motorcycle escort from the funeral home to the cemetery would have made my husband so proud. I commend the officers involved in the planning and the execution of the escort. Their professional demeanour and their sharp appearance made a good impression on our funeral guests from Ottawa and from out of town.

Date Received: 27 September 2010

From: Francois Bidal, Commanding Officer, R.C.M.P.

OPS Member: Staff Sergeant Randy Brennan, Sergeant Ken Bryden, Constable Craig Barlow, Constable Lisa Shibley, Constable Mike Bellefeuille, Constable Monique Paquette, Constable Salwa Hussein, Constable Jonathan Thebault, and Constable Mohamed Amouni

Excerpts from Letter: I would like to take the opportunity to again express my gratitude and thank specific individuals of your Service and their teams for the assistance rendered to our Project during the course of the past 10 months. As you know, during the course of the past year, the RCMP was taxed with a number of major events which put a severe strain on our resources locally, as well as nationally. With your support and assistance, success during the proactive phase of the Project would not have been possible. I would first like to thank S/Sgt. Brennan and his team who provided assistance during the height of this investigation. I would equally like to thank all the duty inspectors and Tactical personnel who attended weekly meetings in order to provide input on contingency plans and tactical support. Lastly, I would like to express my thanks to Sgt. Bryden, and his team consisting of Cst. Barlow, Cst Shibley, Cst. Bellefeuille, Cst. Paquette, Cst. Hussein, Cst. Thebault and Cst. Amouni who displayed professionalism, dedication, and sensitivity during the search of the homes of two suspects who had been arrested. Cst. Amouni also provided real time translation for the Project investigators at both dwellings. Please extend my sincerest regards to the above officers. The sacrifices, hard work, and long hours have not gone unnoticed.