Ceremony to honour Ontario’s fallen police officers held in-person for the first time since the pandemic

The Ontario Police Memorial Foundation held its 23rd annual Ceremony of Remembrance at Queens Park on Sunday.

The last in-person Ceremony of Remembrance was in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hundreds of police officers marched along Queens Park to honor the fallen officers. Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell and Premier Doug Ford were in attendance.

Six names were added to The Wall of Honor which lists 272 officers who died in the line of duty.

One of the officers honoured was Toronto police officer Jeffrey Northrup who was fatally struck by a vehicle in an underground parking lot while responding to a robbery call last year.

Constable Joan Theresa Vanbreda from Niagara police was struck by an impaired driver in 1986 and passed away on May 22nd, 2020 from complications of that motor vehicle collision many years ago.

Three names were historical additions which included Brantford police officer John Hickey who died in 1897.

OPP officer Mark Hovingh, Guelph police Constable John Teevens, and Brockville police Constable Alexander Wright were also added to The Wall of Honor.