LETTERS OF COMMENDATION

SINCE APRIL 2006 BOARD MEETING

 

 

Date Received: 13 March 2006

From: S/Sgt. Steven Waite, Detachment Commander, Russell County, OPP

OPS Members: Sgt. Randy Brown, Cst. Dominic Lalonde, Cst. Scott Fenton

Excerpts from Letter:

On behalf of the Russell County OPP, I would like to take this opportunity to thank your officers for their assistance and great collaboration on February 17th.  The 417 traffic accident in Limoges implicated sixty-nine people and took the lives of five persons. Furthermore twenty-seven people sustained injuries that involved thirty-eight vehicles. Thanks for the quick assistance of Sgt. Randy Brown, Cst. Dominic Lalonde and Cst. Scott Fenton who attended the 417 corridor and re-routed traffic through the Vars exit until sufficient resources were deployed by the OPP to attend the area.  Your officers displayed professionalism and deserve recognition for their support and assistance.  Your commitment to help and assist others in difficult times did not go unnoticed and please accept my sincere thanks for all your help and support.

 

Date Received: 13 April 2006

From: Audrey O’Brien, Clerk of the House of Commons

OPS Members: Sgt. Alan Martel, OPS members

Excerpts from Letter:

On behalf of the House of Commons Administration, allow me to express my sincere appreciation to the men and women of the Ottawa Police Service for their efforts on April 5th to ensure a peaceful demonstration on Parliament Hill by representatives of various agricultural federations.  It has been brought to my attention that members of your Service went to great lengths to meet with the leadership of the federations and explain the concept of parliamentary privilege thereby allowing Members of Parliament to attend to their parliamentary duties without impediment.  Moreover, I wish to commend the members of your Service for their close collaboration with the House of Commons Security Services, both in the planning and operations phases of this event.  I would draw to your attention the pivotal role played by Sergeant Alan Martel of your Service in gaining the trust and confidence of the federations' leadership and ask that you convey my personal gratitude to and admiration for all members of your Service, and especially to Sergeant Alan Martel, for their exemplary work.

 

Date Received: 13 April & 3 May 2006

From: Peggy DuCharme, President, Ontario Business Improvement Area Association

OPS Members: S/Sgt. Paul Johnston, Cst. James Ritchie

Excerpts from Letters:

The Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA) would like to thank the Ottawa Police Service for supporting our annual conference, held this year in Ottawa.  This year's conference was by far the best that OBIAA has ever produced and will be hard pressed to surpass in the future!  Your contribution has much to do with this success.   In particular we would like to thank Constable Jamie Ritchie of the Ottawa Police Pipe Band who piped in the head table.  He was very impressive and added some pageantry to the conference.  We would also like to thank Staff Sergeant Paul Johnson for his presentation about responding to homelessness.  The presentation was both engaging and very informative.  It was very kind of you to allow these two officers to take time from their busy schedules to be with our group.  Their presence was well received as indicated by comments from both delegates and conference organizers.

 

Date Received: 19 April 2006

From: Member of the Public

OPS Members: Cst. Ruth Armstrong, Cst. Stephanie Blades

Excerpts from Letter:

On behalf of my company, I would like to thank the Ottawa Police Service and the new Break and Enter Investigation Team of Detectives Ruth Armstrong and Stephanie Blades for prompt and professional services provided following a break and enter that occurred at my store's premises early the morning of Monday, April 3rd.  Prompted by an alarm response from our store's security system, I gave the okay at 1:42 a.m. to call Ottawa Police.  At 1:49 a.m., Ottawa Police arrived.  This is an excellent response time.  The officers who arrived on the scene were caring and considerate and conducted themselves in a most professional manner.  Detectives Armstrong and Blades came later that day to investigate the crime.  From our store's video security system, we were able to provide them with video evidence of the break and enter, property damage and cash theft.  From that evidence as well as from their own investigation, it appears that the burglar should easily be identified and apprehended.  As a local business owner who has experienced many break-ins over the last sixteen years, I am encouraged by the new Break and Enter Investigation Team recently put into place by the Ottawa Police Service.  It appears that this case is well on its way to being solved.  Fast work indeed by the Ottawa Police Service!

 

Date Received: 19 April 2006

From: Member of the Public

OPS Member: Cst. Sean Convey

Excerpts from Letter:

I just want to congratulate you on having Constable Convey as part of your police team!  His attendance and service were exemplary on the afternoon of Sunday April 16th as he attended to a minor motor vehicle accident that I was involved in.  The accident involved 3 cars due to one car with a failed brake line.  Although it was not necessary for him to write up the incident due to a lack of damage, injuries and traffic infractions, he did us the courtesy anyway.  Nothing he did went unnoticed by me or anyone else at the scene.  Not only was he well informed but he reduced everyone's stress level with a touch of humour.  He made it clear he would help in any way he could with my ailing sister and was extremely thorough in his findings of this accident.  He had two pregnant passengers in separate cars and one passenger in another with disabilities.  He was professional and courteous at all times and I hope that if ever a police officer was needed, Constable Convey would attend.  Thank you for hiring him, he was wonderful.

 

Date Received: 19 April 2006

From: Member of the Public

OPS Members: OPS Members

Excerpts from Letter:

I am writing to communicate our family’s gratitude for the expeditious, thorough, and effective response to an incident that happened on Monday night.  At 12:30 a.m. we received a call from the Robert Land Military Academy in Wellandport, Ontario to advise us that our fourteen-year old son did not arrive back to the school on Monday evening, as he was scheduled to do.  He was last seen at the Ottawa airport where he had been dropped off shortly before 6:00 p.m. to catch a flight to Toronto, and to connect to a bus to Wellandport.  On contacting the airlines, I learned that he never actually got on the plane.  Our family was understandably very concerned.  We did not hear from him at all and feared the very worst.  The school that he is attending is not a school of his choice and the possibility always exists that he could simply refuse to go.  We immediately notified the Ottawa Police.  Within minutes, a police officer was at our door verifying the information that we had provided.  A search had already been put into effect.  A notification to the hospitals, taxis, and bus companies was underway.  Within an hour they found our son asleep on a seat at the airport.  He had spent the last 75 cents he had to try our cell phones.  He assumed that the school would quickly become aware of his absence and that we would know where to find him.  Of course, we had no way of knowing that he had missed his flight or no way of knowing where he would be.  It was an evening without mishap but of course, things could have turned out much differently.  We wanted to take this opportunity to commend the Ottawa Police on the terrific response to this emergency.  We are most grateful.

 

Date Received: 22 April 2006

From: Member of the Public

OPS Members: OPS Members

Excerpts from Letter:

I happened to be in the washroom at about 2:40 a.m. Saturday, April 22, when I heard three male voices laughing and shouting as they passed my home.  A minute or two later I heard what I thought was rain but it didn't sound right.  I looked out my bedroom window and what I saw horrified me, the entire play structure was fully engulfed in flames that were at least 20' high.  It was quite obvious that someone had poured a combustible fluid on the structure to have it so engulfed in such a short time.  I placed the 911 call at 2:48 am and literally within seconds saw two police cruisers flying down Terry Fox Drive; they arrived amazingly fast at about 2:50 am.  As a Kanata resident in the same home for 20 years and having had three children spend countless hours playing on that play structure it was heart wrenching to watch it burn away.  Thank you so very much for the very quick response and for making a valiant attempt to put out the flames with their own fire extinguishers before the fire department had a chance to get there.

 

 

 

 

 

Date Received: 24 April 2006

From: Councillor Janet Stavinga

OPS Members: OPS Members

Excerpts from Letter:

This message is simply to express my sincerest thanks for your efforts on this Saturday's event (protest march on Carp Road).  I attended the march and was delighted by the wonderful response by our Police Service and others.  I appreciate that there was not a lot of time given to organize for this event; regardless, the outstanding efforts of all involved did not go unnoticed!

 

Date Received: 01 May 2006

From: Ontario Bar Association - Young Lawyers' Division

OPS Member: Cst. Allen Percival

Excerpts from Letter:

I am the Chair of the Ontario Bar Association - Young Lawyers' Division (Eastern Region) and I am writing to compliment both the Ottawa Police Service, and more specifically, Constable Allan Percival, for participating recently in our Mock Trial program at Lady Evelyn Alternative School.  This year, for one of our classes, it was necessary to deviate from the traditional Mock Trial program as the teacher involved has taught the same students for three consecutive years, and many had been previously exposed to the Mock Trial fact scenario.  Accordingly, and with the teacher's approval, an Ottawa criminal lawyer and Constable Percival conducted various exercises (designed to provide the students with a better understanding of the perspectives of individuals from different races, cultures and backgrounds) with the students at Lady Evelyn Alternative School. These exercises included a lively question-and-answer period that saw the students ask intelligent and interesting questions about the Ottawa Police Service, and Constable Percival's duties as a police officer.  The positive feedback we received from the teacher and students is a testament to the success of Officer Percival as a fantastic ambassador of the Ottawa Police Service. 

 

Date Received: 1 May 2006

From: Mr. Jon Herberman, A/Director, Policing Services Division, Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services

OPS Member: Sgt. John McGetrick

Excerpts from Letter:

On behalf of the Policing Services Division of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, I would like to thank Sergeant John McGetrick for being a Committee Member at the Domestic Violence Coordinators' 2006 Conference: Building Bridges and Enhancing Partnerships.  Sergeant McGetrick's planning and coordination of this conference was very well received and helped made this year's conference a great success.

 

 

 

 

 

Date Received: 2 May 2006

From: Ms. Sandra Merriam, Arts Court, City of Ottawa

OPS Members: S/Sgt. Paul Johnston, Cst. John Gibbons, District Team Central East

Excerpts from Letter:

(Addressed to S/Sgt. Paul Johnston) First I want to thank you for the noticeable and much appreciated police support that your unit has been providing at the 60 Waller site this spring.  We no longer have the large gatherings of homeless people drinking on the site, and we have not thus far had to remove any people from the Arts Court site in the mornings.  I have had several positive comments from tenants, participants and staff who feel safer.  Cst. John Gibbons will be attending a meeting on May 3 with the front desk reception staff here at Arts Court so that they will follow consistent procedures in contacting the police when homeless people enter the building or are drinking on the site. Given that these staff are young and inexperienced, to have that face-to face contact with Constable Gibbons will be a real confidence booster for them.  Again, thank you for your support.

 

Date Received: 7 May 2006

From: Member of the Public

OPS Members: Sgt. George Lencewicz, Cst. Jean-Claude Ouellette, Cst. Cornelius Posine, Cst. Luc Mongeon, Cst. Denis McKinnon, Cst. Jean-Luc Bonin, Cst. Christopher Hrnchiar, Ms. Valerie Oles

Excerpts from Letter:

Our family would like to express their thankfulness for the manner in which the suicide of our daughter was handled.  The family appreciates all the officers and Val Oles from Victim Crisis, for their sensitivity to our situation.  I would like to thank all of you for your professionalism in dealing with a tragic event.

 

Date reçu: 10 mai 2006

De: Société Radio Canada

Membres du SPO: Sergent d’état majeur par intérim Denis Cléroux, Cst. Mannix Velho

Extraits de la lettre:

Tel qu'entendu, le tournage que nous avons réalisé avec le constable Velho au début du mois sera diffusé dans le cadre d'un documentaire sur le registre des armes à feu.  Par ailleurs, au nom de toute mon équipe, je tiens à vous remercier sincèrement pour la collaboration que la police d'Ottawa nous a offert dans le cadre de ce tournage.  Le constable Velho fut un guide merveilleux, candide, naturel à la caméra, bien articulé. Ce fut un véritable plaisir de travailler avec lui.  Merci donc à vous et à toute votre équipe.

 

Date Received: 16 May 2006

From: Member of the Public

OPS Member: Cst. Umer Khan

Excerpts from Letter:

I feel compelled to write in recognition of Officer U. Khan.  I consider him to be an outstanding officer and human being, and a true credit to the police force of Ottawa.  He pulled me over for having made a left turn during posted non-turn hours.  I am not familiar with the area, and the infraction was completely inadvertent on my part.  I have always been a very responsible driver, but I have been going through a very difficult time in my life, and I simply did not notice any posting when I made the turn.  The officer was good enough to afford me a warning, apparently sensing my sincerity.  However, he did much more than this.  I think he sensed my unwellness.  After he provided me the warning, I asked if he would be willing just to talk to me for a bit, and he agreed, acting both with professionalism and genuine concern.  Without keeping the officer for all too long, I told him about some of my current troubles, and how they are impacting me….The fact that the officer was willing to listen, that he displayed a genuine concern and that he had some encouraging and helpful words for me, was truly uplifting.  I believe this to be a very rare quality in police officers and in people in general, and that it is an aspect of policing that should be valued more greatly.  Officer Khan has a keen eye for human need and a rare compassion for strangers. I left feeling just a little bit less heavy-hearted about my life situation.

 

Date Received: 6 June 2006

From: Director General, Training and Development, Canadian Security Intelligence Service

OPS Members: S/Sgt. Bernie Ladouceur, Sgt. Murray Knowles, Cst. Steve Carroll, Cst. Greg Swrjeski

Excerpts from Letter:

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the excellent cooperation we received from the Ottawa Police Service in providing assistance during a training exercise held in Ottawa on April 27.  Although called upon on short notice, the Ottawa Police Service made two resources available to participate in the exercise.  In particular, I would like to extend my thanks to Cst. Steve Carroll and Cst. Greg Swrjeski for their participation during the exercise.  Both officers participated in an exercise designed to challenge our intelligence officers in the deployment of cover.  Your officers interacted with the students in a very professional manner and were enthusiastic in ensuring that the students benefited fully from this real life encounter with police officials.  Cst. Carroll and Cst. Swrjeski also took the time to provide each student with valuable feedback, which was appreciated by all involved.  I would also like to thank S/Sgt. Bemie Ladouceur and Sgt Murray Knowles for their assistance in coordinating the participation of your officers.  We look forward to other opportunities to work with the Ottawa Police Service in the future.

 

Date Received: 13 June 2006

From: Member of the Public

OPS Members: Ms. Louise Logue, OPS Members

Excerpts from Letter:

I wanted to take a moment to pass on my sincere thanks as a citizen and parent in the Ottawa area.  I have appreciated the helpful access to information from both officers approached on the street and from telephone contact with the Ottawa Police.  I have been very pleased with the police presence in support of our youth and for access to valuable information on drug awareness that assists us as parents.  The information available from the youth bureau has also been very helpful for our parenting group here at work.  Special thanks to Louise Logue who has been an invaluable teaching resource to both my husband and I as we navigate through the remaining teenage years and pass on our experience with other parents in our wake.  I regularly read the email-distributed police bulletins and we have used the phone in tip service for the first time just a week ago.   Please pass on our thanks to all your staff both civilian and members.