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REPORT RAPPORT |
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DATE: |
23 March 2010 |
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TO/DEST: |
Executive Director, Ottawa Police Services Board |
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FROM/EXP: |
Chief of Police, Ottawa Police Service |
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SUBJECT/OBJET: |
LETTERS
OF COMMENDATION |
RECOMMENDATION
That the Ottawa
Police Services Board receive this report for information.
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.
(original signed by)
Vern White,
Chief of Police
Attach. (1)
LETTERS
OF COMMENDATION
Date Received: 09
February 2010
From: Member of the Public
OPS Members:
Constable Yourik Brisebois
Excerpts from
Email: I just want to pass along my words of appreciation for one of your
patrol officers. Constable Brisebois
attended a call for a minor motor vehicle accident in which my daughter was
implicated. I appreciated the way that
he dealt with the people at the scene and especially how he treated my daughter. He showed compassion yet firmness in his
approach. He took the time to deal with
her in a very respectful and professional way.
This was her first experience in dealing with a police officer in the
line of duty and he set the bar at a level that we, as senior managers, expect
from our troops.
Date Received: 10
February 2010
From: Member of Public
OPS Members:
Constable Eustace Roberts, Constable Alan Tam and Constable Earle Cook
Excerpts from
Letter: This letter is to thank and
commend the officers of the Ottawa Police Service that responded to the 9-1-1
call at our apartment on 01 February 2010.
Constable Eustace Roberts and his partner-in-training demonstrated a
professional attitude and compassionate demeanour to both me and my son. Their commitment to the health and safety of
individuals in the community was outstanding.
Date Received: 10
February 2010
From: Member of Public
OPS Members:
Constable Michael Pelletier, Constable Caroline Hall, Constable Michel Vandal,
Constable Abel Herbert, Constable Paul Cahill, Constable Judith Drover-Janes
and Sergeant Claude Mallet
Excerpts from
Letter: In July 2009 we found our brother
dead in his apartment. As you can
imagine, this was a stressful time. On
behalf of his family, I would like to express our gratitude to the police,
paramedics and the coroner. They were
professional, yet sympathetic and very supportive. They walked us through the process and made us feel less
alone. I would like to commend these
people for doing a difficult job daily and doing it well. They exhibit a concern and empathy for those
they interact with.
Date Received: 10
February 2010
From: Member of Public
OPS Members:
Constable Brett Chisholm and Constable Kelly Ryan
Excerpts from
Email: Just before Christmas my son had
cash, vehicle and house keys, and his girlfriend’s credit card stolen from his
jacket pocket. I would like to inform
you of the high quality of service that I received from both Cst. Chisholm and
Cst. Ryan. From my initial contact and
future contacts, I must say I was well informed of the ongoing investigation
through emails and telephone calls during the holiday season. This was undoubtedly a very busy time for
your Service, yet both constables took the time to keep me updated as to the
ongoing developments in the investigation.
I was impressed with the tenacity of Cst. Chisholm and Cst. Ryan in
moving this investigation forward and with the level of service they
provided. They were both very
professional in all the contacts I had with them.
Date Received: 11
February 2010
From: Retired OPS Member
OPS Members:
Traffic Escort – Sergeant Stu Feldman, Sergeant Brian Meiske, Constable
Christie Scheerder, Constable Steve Coulthart, Constable Matthew Clarke,
Constable James Kelleher, Constable Paul Bosley, Constable Caroline Tessier,
Constable Daryl Coburn, Constable Amerjit Sahota and Constable Trevor MacMillan
Excerpts from
Letter: I am writing to you once again to
express appreciation for another act of kindness towards my family by members
of the Ottawa Police Service. On 14
February 2010 my dad passed away in hospital after medical complications. Members of your Police Service provided an
escort for my dad’s funeral procession to the church and from the church to his
final resting place at the cemetery.
Similar kind actions were extended to our family back in November for my
mom’s funeral. As I wrote in a previous
letter to you, my dad was so touched by the escort provided at my mom’s
funeral. If he were here today, he
would be humbled by the honour that he too was given by members of your Police
Service. That final salute by the
officers at the cemetery is an extremely emotional tribute. I would like to acknowledge the above
members of the Traffic Escort Unit who once again braved the cold elements so
professionally and once again touched our hearts that day.
Date Received: 12
February 2010
From: Member of Public
OPS Members:
Sergeant Rohan Beebakhee
Excerpts from
Email: I received a phone call informing
me that my brother passed away at the Elizabeth Bruyere Centre last night. I was having trouble locating the Centre and
had to stop an officer (Sgt. Beebakhee) who assisted me in locating the Centre
and ensured I made it inside. I wished
to commend Sgt. Beebakhee for his compassion and willingness to assist me
during a trying time.
Date
Received: 12 February 2010
From: John Kaplan, Chief of
Police, Potsdam Police Department
OPS
Members: Sergeant Jamie Jordan, Constable Amy Bond, Constable Dennis McKinnon,
Sergeant Mark Barclay and Constable Dan Kunsken
Excerpts
from Letter: In December 2009 Chief
Alan Mulkin of the Canton, NY Police Department and I accepted a
generous invitation to observe the Ottawa Police Service use of force training
directed by Sgt. Jordan. We were given
a tour by Sgt. Jordan and then began observing a wide variety of training to
include baton, chemical agent, defensive tactics and simunitions
exercises. These exercises were
conducted by Cst. Amy Bond and Cst. Dennis McKinnon. Sgt. Mark Barclay and Cst. Dan Kunsken assisted. Although Chief Mulkin is FBI SWAT and
National Academy graduate and an FBI firearms instructor, he confirmed my
thoughts that we had never seen finer training nor more competent instructors. I found myself taking notes throughout the
day and on the return trip home, we could not stop discussing new ways to
implement some of the concepts we saw in action at the training center. Thank you very much for providing this
opportunity.
Date Received: 16
February 2010
From: Neil Yeates, Deputy Minister, Citizenship and
Immigration Canada
OPS Members:
Ottawa Police Service Members
Excerpts from
Letter: I would like to extend my sincere
thanks to your organization for the support you have provided to Citizenship
and Immigration Canada in the successful evacuation of the groups of adopted
children from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
With your assistance, we have been able to ensure the safe arrival and
warm reception of these children who are leaving a very difficult situation in
Haiti following the devastating earthquake on 12 January 2010. I am very appreciative of the quick response
and logistical support from our partners that has allowed us to meet the needs
of these children and their adoptive families who were united in Ottawa.
Date
Received: 24 February 2010
From: John Laframboise, General
Manager, Kelly Funeral Homes
OPS
Members: Ottawa Police Service Members
Excerpts
from Letter: On behalf of the Kelly
Funeral Home Family I would like to express my sincere appreciation
for the respect and professionalism demonstrated by the Ottawa Police Service
personnel following the death of our founder, Lorne Kelly. We would like to express our gratitude to
those who visited at the funeral home and participated in the funeral cortege
escort. The display of respect as the
cortege arrived at Saint Patrick’s Basilica was very moving.
Date Received: 25
February 2010
From: Member of Public
OPS Members:
Constable Donald Duff, Constable Gary Locke, Constable Mannix Velho and
Constable Dave Turnbull
Excerpts from
Letter: My wife and I are writing this
letter to commend four police officers for their professionalism during a call
on 24 December 2009. There is a tenant
in the building who has been a recurring problem over the past two years, due
to chronic alcohol abuse. On Christmas
Eve we took materials down to the recycle bin and the tenant was sitting drunk
and incoherent on a bench in the underground parking. He was rocking back and forth and crying out loudly. I called Ottawa Police and remained
downstairs until the officers showed up.
These officers began by attempting to reason with the subject, trying to
cajole him to his feet - it appeared that the tenant went to strike one of the
officers, at which point they arrested him.
As I mentioned above, this tenant has been a recurring problem for over
two years and I have nothing but respect for the police officers and paramedics
who have responded too many times in the past.
Not only do they have to deal with the frustration of dealing with the
same problem, but they also have to deal with angry tenants.
Date Received: 26
February 2010
From: Leo Girouard, Corporal, RCMP, Winnipeg,
Manitoba
OPS Members:
Staff Sergeant Gary Cashman, Constable Kevin Jacobs, Constable Anh Dieu and
members from the Ottawa Police Service Airport Unit
Excerpts from
Letter: We wish to express our deep
gratitude and appreciation to all the members of the Ottawa Police Service who
provided assistance to our unit during the location and arrest of a suspect for
fraud in February 2010. S/Sgt. Cashman
was very helpful during our initial contact with your Police Service stating
his unit would assist in any way they could.
The file was assigned to Constable Dieu who then located and arrested
our suspect. S/Sgt. Cashman made many
arrangements for two Corporals who attended Ottawa to pick up the suspect and
made their stay run very smoothly. We
cannot express enough admiration and respect for S/Sgt. Gary Cashman, Cst.
Jacobs, Constable Dieu and members of the Ottawa Police Service Airport Unit for
their dedication and their care of us during our time in Ottawa.
Date Received: 26
February 2010
From: Member of Public
OPS Members:
Constable Pascal Labine
Excerpts from
Email: I wanted to take a moment to
thank you for your great service. On 25
February 2010 you attended a motor vehicle collision involving my wife. My wife later told me that you provided both
comfort and stability during an extremely traumatic time. My wife took the time to explain to me in
great detail how you treated her and showed great concern for our 8-month-old
son. She comes from a country where
policing is not seen in a positive light and with that being said, she has
never been fond of police because of that.
You may have changed this. I am
very grateful for the service you provided today and feel very confident that
our community is better served with truly committed officers like you. Thank you for keeping my family safe.
Date Received: 01
March 2010
From: Member of Public
OPS Members:
Constable Yannik Bernard and Constable Ian Cork
Excerpts from
Email: Please allow me to take this
opportunity to express my sincerest gratitude for services rendered by your
officers concerning an incident that occurred at my place of business on 15
February 2010 – a woman requested I fill her gas tank and then drove off. I placed a call to the Ottawa Police Service
and within 30 minutes Constable Bernard arrived to take my report. Constable Bernard then paid me a personal
visit three days later to confirm that the woman had been identified, located
and charges were pending. I was then
contacted by Constable Cork who confirmed the charges and advised if I required
anything further to contact him directly.
I have truly experienced an extraordinary level of service excellence
and commitment to duty from not one but all officers involved in this
case. I commend you for inspiring such
dedication among your front line personnel.
Date Received: 05
March 2010
From: Member of Public
OPS Members:
Constable Paul Cahill
Excerpts from
Letter: On 24 February 2010 my car was
hit in a parking lot while I was shopping.
I called the Ottawa Police Service and Constable Paul Cahill was at my
door in less than 30 minutes. I was
tired, upset and suffering from a bad cold but almost immediately I was put at
ease by Constable Cahill with his pleasant, courteous, sympathetic and totally
professional manner. I really
appreciated the way Constable Cahill responded to my plight, asked the
necessary questions and filled out his report – I was treated with dignity,
respect, care and just the right amount of human warmth. This is what I call excellent service from
a highly trained, qualified professional.
Date Received: 15
March 2010
From: D/Insp. John van der Lelie, Ministry of
Community Safety and Correctional Services
OPS Members:
Sergeant Teena Stoddart, Constable Jeannette Kramer and Constable Rosemary
Keindel-Martineau
Excerpts from
Letter: We want to express our
appreciation for outstanding work by members of your Service to make Ottawa
Police more compliant with Police Act Regulation 354/04, in particular with
adoption and implementation of the MCM software. We want to recognize the excellent team assembled; Sgt. Stoddart,
Cst. Kramer and Cst. Keindel-Martineau, who collectively developed and delivered
a 1-day training program for Investigators and Case Managers at PDC. The instruction and course standard were of
such high standard that the Ontario Police College has adopted the course as
the basis for their venue to be taught province-wide. Please pass along our thanks for making a major contribution to
policing province-wide.