LETTERS OF COMMENDATION

(SINCE DECEMBER BOARD MEETING)

Date Received	Agencies/Members of the Public	OPS Members	Excerpts from Letters
Nov. 1	Member of the Public	Cst. Will Hinterberger	I am sending this letter to you because I am very proud of Detective William Hinterberger and am thankful to have him as my guide. My family and I are very blessed that we had him involved in our case…He taught us about determination and persistence. We could feel his high energy and see his strong hard working ethics. Not only was he our guide, but also he treated us just like human beings and made us feel very comfortable (not terrified). That meant a lot us. He gave us hope in our uphill battle of racism, hatred and the discrete underground working of those kinds of people.
Nov. 14	York Regional Police Male Chorus	Ottawa Police Chorus	On November 6, 2004, the York Regional Police Male Chorus held their 12^th annual “In Harmony with the Community” fundraising concert in Newmarket Ontario…I would like to offer you my thanks for allowing the Ottawa Police Chorus to attend and take part in this important event. They, as they always do, did your police service proud. Thank you also to Geoff Linklater, their Music Director and Carol Gurofsky for sharing their talents with our audience as well.
Nov. 15	Ottawa South Neighbourhood Watch Community Association	Sgt. John Medeiros	I wish to inform you of the excellent presentations given by Sgt. John Medeiros. He spoke both of the street gangs making our neighbourhoods their territories, and of the problem getting people to report their existence for fear of recrimination...After the meeting many members commented on the excellence of the presentation and the valuable information they’d received. Somehow everyone will look at graffiti with a much more critical eye.
Nov. 26	RCMP “D” Division	Supt. Pat Hayes	On November 24, 2004, Supt. Pat Hayes provided a presentation at “D” Division Headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba…Supt. Hayes’ presentation was extremely informative, interesting and of great value to our officers. His presentation of the OC Transpo case and the interactive method implemented to test the incident commanders was well received.
Nov. 29	Member of the Public	Cst. Michael Stoll	I cannot commend Cst. Mike Stoll highly enough for his outstanding skills – his communication abilities, his professionalism, his tact, and his compassion. This was a scary and shocking experience for myself, my husband, and of course our son. Like many teenagers, he had not shared with his parents his emotional turmoil and trouble with friends at school…Although given the opportunity to be relieved by fellow officers, he stayed with us through the entire ordeal at the hospital until it was decided that my son was not a risk to himself and he was released into my care. I appreciated that to no end. Mike was a source of help, support, and sound information to us.
Dec. 3	Councillor Diane Holmes	Insp. Tim Armour OPS Members	…CCOC Housing informs me that the CCOC building at Bank & Gilmour has seen a noticeable improvement in illegal activity since the recent drug bust. Thank you for your hard work and attention to this serious problem.
Dec 7.	Alwood Treatment Centre	Ms. Louise Logue	We were delighted that Louise Logue had been approved to deliver some staff training to the Alwood staff team. Louise provided us with an excellent presentation on raves and club drugs. The staff found it to be very informative and pertinent to the clientele we work with at Alwood. We appreciate having access to that level of expertise from the community.
Dec. 7	Member of the Public	Sgt. Michel Hebert Cst. Mahad Hassan	On October 19, 2004 my father (retired Senator) passed away at our home. The two officers, who attended, displayed the highest degree of professionalism and the utmost respect for my father and family during their entire time at our home. As my father’s body was about to be placed in the vehicle, to be taken to the mortuary, the two officers, as a final tribute, came to attention and saluted. The respect and honour they bestowed upon him at that moment was not only moving but extremely significant. My father had devoted his entire life to the furtherance of racial harmony and equality. Therefore, when those two officers, one black, the other white, saluted him, they represented the culmination of his efforts and sacrifice.
Dec. 16	The Brindle Agency	Cst. Chris Partridge Cst. Mark Nethercott	I am writing in order to thank Constables Partridge and Nethercott for their help with an incident which occurred at our Maple Grove Residence. Both officers in attendance were very supportive of our staff and the youth involved in the incident, which was quite serious. The support by the two constables continued while at CHEO…I have had many dealings with these two constables, and they have been nothing but fantastic to work with. It is our hope that they will receive recognition for the extra efforts they have made.
Dec. 19	Member of the Public	Cst. Vince Arlotta Cst. Christopher Cochrane	On October 29, 2004, my wife and my two young children were involved in an unfortunate motor vehicle accident. Officer Cochrane located my work place and drove me to the Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, where my wife and my two sons were admitted. Officer Arlotta, who was at the scene of the accident, admirably and efficiently coordinated the evacuation of my wife and children to the emergency services at the Civic campus. I do strongly believe that Officer Arlotta's presence at the scene and handling of the crisis minimized the trauma that my children have experienced, and to a certain extent, my wife's too. Certainly, they were "just doing their jobs", but the style in which they have accomplished their duty makes all the difference. I do not think that my words have done or will ever do justice to Officers Arlotta and Cochrane.
Dec. 20	Rideau Centre Security Staff	Cst. Claude Mallet Cst. Kirk Miller Cst. Richard Giroux Cst. Salam Barakat Cst. Norman Redmond Cst. Marc Levesque	I wanted to let you know that the NHO officers down here at the Rideau Centre are doing an absolutely awesome job. They have been in every day over our busy weekends, and have been frequently on Rideau Street ensuring it is well kept and free of our "unwanted" individuals for the past few months intensively. They spend countless hours down here and take on the painstaking task of cleaning up our areas. I have to ensure that you know how well they are doing here and that people are really responding well to the police presence... Our mall has had little to no problems during this busy season and I personally owe it to the presence of your officers. Make no mistake that these officers reflect what a police force and community policing is all about. I am honoured to work beside these guys on a daily basis and I just wanted to make sure they got the respect and admiration they deserve.
Dec. 22	Member of the Public	Cst. Denis Turpin	Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me with a very difficult step in life to take and to be cleared so I can work with a nursing home that desperately needs volunteers. Denis Turpin is a credit to the police force because he is efficient, compassionate, thorough, helpful, dedicated efficient and devoted to his job.
Dec. 22	Member of the Public	Sgt. Rick Vance	My 16-year-old son had been assaulted at the bus shelter when he and three friends had disembarked from an OC Transpo bus... I subsequently became involved in the incident. Simply put, Sgt Vance performed in an outstanding and highly professional manner. From the moment he arrived on the scene he was in charge of it. He shut the incident down in mere moments. His subsequent actions were extremely efficient and effective. While this type of incident may be "routine" for police officers such as Sgt Vance, it is not "routine" for either myself or the four teenagers. The manner in which this officer performed was, as I say, simply outstanding.
Dec 30	RCMP “A” Division	OPS Investigators	As you know, one of our Immigration and Passport investigations, namely Project Argon, concluded an important phase of its investigation with the arrest of several individuals in Ottawa on December 16, 2004. This investigation was very sensitive and resource intensive due to its nature and the subjects of this file…I would like to extend my appreciation and gratitude for the excellent teamwork and cooperation received from your investigators. The professionalism and dedication exhibited by these employees was, as usual, very impressive. We, at “A” Division, value our partnership with the Ottawa Police Service. The trust and mutual respect we have for each other’s organization is enhanced with every operation we conduct together.
Jan. 6	Member of the Public	Cst. Jason Nadeau Cst. Christopher O’Brien Cst. Bonita Grozelle Cst. Min Soe Myo Cst. Michael Lamothe	I wish to express my most sincere thanks for the help of your officers who were of great assistance to me and my family on January 1. My son, who has been diagnosed with bipolar illness, had stopped his medication a few months ago and was now in manic phase, thus requiring immediate hospitalization. The two policemen who came to out house to bring him to the hospital showed judgement, understanding, compassion and empathy in getting my son to the hospital. The woman officer who interviewed me and my daughter was extremely knowledgeable about bipolar illness and showed exceptional psychological skill and human understanding. I was truly impressed by your officers’ excellent handling of this urgent mental illness emergency… Furthermore, I wish to commend Detective Lamothe for his dedication in following up on my son’s status…I was truly impressed by his professionalism and sincere concern for my son and my family…Your Mental Health Unit is an extremely vital part of your organization. My son needed exactly what your officers delivered on January 1. I wish to let you know that all policies and training for your officers in mental health issues are very effective and necessary.
Jan. 7	University of Ottawa	Mr. David Pepper Ms. Laurie Fenton A/Insp. Kai Liu	We would like to take this opportunity to thank you and the members of your team for your participation in the field placement program of the department of criminology at the University of Ottawa. The learning opportunities and quality of the supervision you provided are instrumental to the training of our students. The practical experience gained by our students through the field placement program has always been an essential and distinctive feature of the criminology degree.
Jan. 23	Member of the Public	Cst. Stephen Tate	…I had to call 911…my wife had just passed away. I would like to congratulate all of the emergency personnel who responded to my call for their professional manner in which they handled the situation, the assistance offered, and the understanding showed. In particular, I would like to thank Constable Steve Tate who was probably just doing his job but, from my perspective, he went above and beyond the call of duty in his professional approach and reassuring comments that he made to help me in my time of need. I think the most touching part was that when he left, he gave me his card and said, “If there is anything that you need, please call me”…
Jan. 24	Member of the Public	Cst. David Leshien	I was pulled over last week by one of your constables - Constable Leshien. I was speeding and was caught. This constable was extremely polite and did not make me feel like a criminal. He treated me with respect and made sure I knew I was wrong but didn't go beyond making his point. Sometimes we pay too much attention to the negative side of police work and the exceptions of behaviour which the news focuses on and I just wanted to recognize this person for their professionalism and say he is a great ambassador for all of you.
Feb. 3	Ashbury College	Cst. Robert Smith	I want to thank you and share my appreciation for Constable Rob Smith who provides excellent service and communication with Ashbury College. Most recently he attended a civics class and taught the process for making an arrest and how youth crime is handled. Rob is a superb speaker and representative for the Ottawa Police Service. He promotes police work as a career well. We appreciate his professional and responsible service.
Feb. 4	Member of the Public	Cst. Kathy Radmore	I was forced to call 911 when my daughter decided not to come home. Constable Radmore responded to the call and I must say was extremely professional yet quite compassionate. She was very understanding even through my fits of grief. She explained to me that sometimes 14-year-old girls do this and believe it or not that even good girls have been known to pull this. Even though I had friends and neighbours here Constable Radmore gave me a real sense of optimism and security. Even after my daughter called and I picked her up, Constable Radmore offered to come over and have a little chat with her. I really appreciated her taking the time to do this for us…With all the calls the police respond to everyday and the long shifts and paperwork, I fully understand the extra mile she went to provide the exceptional service to myself and my family.
Feb. 9	Member of the Public	Cst. Denis Turpin	Two days ago, I encountered a stressful and fearful situation for which I called the police for help. In fact, this unpleasant event gave me another opportunity to learn about how wonderful our police are. Firstly, from the moment the operator answered the phone to Cst. Denis Turpin coming in to my house was very fast. We are very satisfied about the response time. Secondly, Cst. Denis Turpin did not just come for a visit and give some general guidance, he actually handled the whole situation with dedicated follow-up and feedbacks. I felt that this was not just a police officer who had the knowledge of law and the intelligence of dealing with difficult situations but also a person who was kind, understanding and caring. What he has done for us definitely goes beyond or above the call of duty…The experience makes me believe that we are living in a safer community. As a new immigrant, I am happy that I landed in this place.
Feb. 10	Iraqi Out of Country Voting Program	OPS Members	As we wind down the security operation surrounding the Out of Country Voting for the Iraq election, I would like to express my sincere thanks to you and the members of the Ottawa Police Service for the excellent service provided to us for the duration of this operation. Without the full cooperation of your Force our success would not have been possible…The tremendous coordination and efforts of the members of your Service ensured a smooth and secure operation for both our staff and the voters. This was of course delivered under a compressed timeline with the utmost professionalism.
Feb. 11	Member of the Public	Cst. Kristin Jennings Cst. Edward Cristina	Yesterday, my wife, upon returning home discovered a break and enter in progress at our residence. She encountered the perpetrator at our back door, and he immediately fled with some of our personal possessions in hand. Consequently, she phoned 911. Within minutes the Ottawa Police responded. A very short time later the canine unit was brought in and our neighbourhood was surrounded by cruisers. Through their unbelievable efforts a suspect was apprehended and part of our possessions were returned to us within several hours and the rest returned this morning. Therefore, my wife and I would like to extend our most sincere thank you and appreciation to our city’s finest. Without them we would have lost possessions, some of which had sentimental value, notwithstanding the monetary value involved.