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: 19 April 2010

From: T.G. Witzke, Staff Sergeant, R.C.M.P.

OPS Member: Sgt. Maureen Hunt

Excerpts from Letter: Between February 1, 2010 and March 1, 2010, I was the Unit Commander of the Standing Relief Squad in Whistler BC, for the 2010 Winter Olympics. This Squad consisted of three watches of ten police members tasked with assisting all the security and police units in Whistler with manpower shortages or calls for service over and above the norm. Sgt. Hunt was the Watch Commander of “C” Watch, a unit which consisted of police members from seven different police organizations. She was required to liaise with the Whistler Command Centre and the different venue commanders on a daily basis in order to ascertain where her members would be deployed, which could be three to four different locations. Sgt. Hunt performed all these duties in a professional and competent manner, demonstrating an ability to multi-task as she had to organize and dispatch her members daily.

Date Received: 21 April 2010

From: Member of the Public

OPS Members: Acting Inspector Rock Lavigne, Constable Timothy Renwick, Constable Jamie Ritchie, Sergeant Patrick Malone, Constable Holly Raymond, Sergeant Robert Bernier, Staff Sergeant Brad Hampson, Constable Darwin Turner and Constable Craig Roberts

Excerpts from Letter: We wish to express our sincere appreciation for the wonderful tributes paid to our father. By placing one phone call to the Ottawa Police Association, I was assured that everything would be arranged for Dad’s funeral, and it was. Arrangements were made with the Traffic Section for a police escort from the funeral home, to the church and from the church to the cemetery. The family was extremely proud of this tribute afforded to our father. Constable Renwick was instrumental in arranging for the piper (Cst. Jamie Ritchie), who performed brilliantly at the church and the cemetery. Sgt. Malone arranged an honour guard at the funeral home. We understand these three individuals (Cst. Raymond, Cst. Turner and S/Sgt. Hampson) were volunteers and we would like to express our sincere thanks for the honour they bestowed on our father. The combined efforts of all of these individuals, and probably more that we are not aware of, was truly amazing and greatly appreciated by the family. Thank you.

Date Received: 26 April 2010

From: Member of the Public

OPS Member: Louise Logue

Excerpts from Letter: I am extremely pleased to hear of the success of the recent youth mental health conference. I wish to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation for the hard work of Louise Logue and all the event organizers. Without dedication and enthusiasm of these individuals, this conference would not have been possible.

Date Received: 01 May 2010

From: Member of the Public

OPS Members: Constable Felix Letellier, Constable Bernard Covic

Excerpts from Email: We needed to place a call to the Ottawa Police Service to attend Special Care for Women as a client who had been refusing meds, had an outburst and refused to leave or take meds and was escalating. Constable Letellier and Constable Covic responded to the call. Both were a great help, calmed the situation, and treated the client with respect and compassion. Constable Letellier got her to take her meds. With their help, peace was restored and without further escalation.

Date Received: 04 May 2010

From: Member of the Public

OPS Members: Constable Raymond Lamarre

Excerpts from Email: This email is in appreciation to Constable Lamarre for his presentation to the retired group ‘Retraite en Action’ on Crime Prevention and Neighbourhood Watch.

Date Received: 06 May 2010

From: Member of the Public

OPS Members: Sgt. Kenny Bryden, Constable Kirk Batson, Constable Min Myo, Constable Jennifer Finniss and Donna Johnston

Excerpts from Letter: I am writing you this letter to thank you and to congratulate your Police Service for its recent service to our family. On March 20, 2010, Sgt. Bryden and Cst. Batson arrive at our home to bring us the devastating news that our only child had died accidentally earlier that day in St. Catharines, Ontario. Sgt. Bryden and Cst. Batson treated us and our arriving family and friends with the utmost compassion and professionalism. I’m sure this is one of the more difficult duties that a police officer has to undertake, but theses two officers could give lessons. In the course of our time with Sgt. Bryden and Cst. Batson, I learned that they’re both fathers of young children, and I know that our situation dealt these two officers an emotional blow as well. A member of your Victim Crisis Unit, Donna Johnston was with us very soon after we got the news and she was also wonderfully helpful. The funeral took place in Metcalfe. Our Community Police Officer, Cst. Finniss, arranged for Cst. Myo to be stationed at the church to direct traffic. Please pass our sincere thanks to the officers. We truly appreciate everything that has been done for us.

Date Received: 10 May 2010

From: Luc Poulin, Sergeant, R.C.M.P.

OPS Member: Constable Christopher Cochrane

Excerpts from Letter: Although later than expected, I would like to express my thanks and gratitude to Cst. Cochrane who worked with me during his deployment at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic. Cst. Cochrane was part of an 11 person team under my supervision assigned to the outer perimeter security of the Vancouver Olympic village. Although our duties proved to be monotonous hours, Cst. Cochrane was always eager to get to work and never complained of any situations. Cst. Cochrane had an excellent working relationship with his fellow workers and was definitely considered a team player. I believe Cst. Cochrane to have been an asset to our team and certainly, in my opinion, an asset to the Ottawa Police Service and will be to any unit within.

Date Received: 10 May 2010

From: Member of the Public

OPS Members: Sergeant Julie Vaillant

Excerpts from Email: Once again we write to tell you of the dedication of officers Sgt. Ken Doyle (Retired), Sgt. Richard Charbonneau (Retired), and Sgt. Vaillant. It is almost five years since our son died and now seven men have been arrested, sentenced, and jailed. Through all this, these officers have given us hope, encouragement, support and friendship. They witnessed to us their dedication not just to the investigation work, but also their concern for the family; and at times for us this was overwhelming. Throughout the entire investigation, they have continued to be a source of strength for us. The City of Ottawa is very fortunate to have dedicated, persistent, kind officers such as these. We thank you for all your officers have done in helping to heal our broken hearts.

Date Received: 11 May 2010

From: Member of the Public

OPS Members: Linda Alexander-Mieske, Cameron Hopgood, Randy Mar, Kevin Mason, Ryan McEachran, Sergeant Christopher Rheaume, Kyla Taitt, William Westcott

Excerpts from Email: I wanted to tell you what a wonderful job your team of volunteers did on Friday at Queen Mary School. They did incredible work on the front garden, transforming if into the thing of beauty. The mural that Carol designed and the volunteers painted is a real showpiece and the students are thrilled with it. I am very grateful to the support received from the Ottawa Police Service to make this first “Give Back to School Day” happen and I thank you for much for your part in getting this approval.