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Toronto Police launches Because of the Line of Duty Memorial

May 31, 2024, Toronto, Ont. – Toronto Police Service members who lost their lives Because of the Line of Duty are being honoured with a new memorial.

“It’s important to acknowledge the tragic sacrifice that so many policing members have made in the course of their duties,” said Chief Myron Demkiw. “Police officers respond to situations that expose them to trauma on a regular basis that can accumulate and have a significant impact on their wellbeing.”

A Because of the Line of Duty Death is defined as an injury or trauma, sustained during the course of a member’s duties, where it has been determined to be a significant contributing factor in their death. These deaths can be caused by an operational stress injury from a single event or trauma accumulated over their careers.

The first officers added to the memorial in a ceremony on May 2, 2024 are:

• Chief John Chisholm
• Sergeant Michael Pedley
• Staff Sergeant Edward Adamson
• Constable Darius Garda

This new initiative was presented to the Toronto Police Service Board today.

“My message to members is to recognize that you do incredible work, incredibly challenging work that will expose you to difficult circumstances. And it’s important that we all can acknowledge that it’s okay not to be okay,” said Demkiw. “Today is a step forward for this organization to honour those who have passed because of the line of duty. It’s important for us to focus on destigmatizing self-care surrounding mental health. The suffering caused by operational stress injuries is something we need to address as a policing community and as a society.”

Chief Demkiw said there now many avenues to get help through wellness programs but there needs to be a safe space created for people to step forward. “It’s important for us to be able speak in their workplaces and feel safe about acknowledging the realities our members face when they go to work every day and we need to focus on our own self-care and support one another. No one should feel alone.”

The memorial is now available at www.tps.ca/honour-wall along with members who sacrificed their lives In the Line of Duty and in World War I and World War II. The procedure for requesting TPS members to be added to the memorial as well as the application are available on this webpage. The physical memorial at Toronto Police Headquarters will be redeveloped to include the newest memorial.

The development of this memorial has been years in the making with the consultation of family members of those who have died, mental health experts, Wounded Warriors Canada, Toronto Beyond the Blue, the Toronto Police Association and through a settlement with the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

“It memorializes their service and their dedication to policing,” said Toronto Police Association President Jon Reid. “This is critically important for the Toronto Police Association as we work every day to destigmatize mental health in policing. Not only do we want our members to feel comfortable putting their hand up for support, but we want our members to feel comfortable checking in on each other.”