‘8 officers in the last 6 months in our nation’: Quebec police officer killed in the line of duty

On the same day as Edmonton gathered to mourn the death of two constables killed in the line of duty, another Canadian police officer was killed.

Sgt. Maureen Breau of the Sûreté du Québec was stabbed to death while attempting to make an arrest in Louisville, Quebec. The death marked the eighth officer killed in the line of duty across the country in the last six months.

Two other police officers have also died in that time. Const. Corinne Kline of the Edmonton Police Service, whose cause of death was not confirmed, and Const. Travis Gillespie of the York Regional Police Service, who died in a car crash.

“There are no words. This is too many now. I have been to seven funerals for police officers, I just returned from Edmonton overnight, I was there just yesterday, grieving with the families of the officers there,” said Marco Mendicino, Public Safety Minister.

“This is a difficult moment. It has been truly unprecedented in our country’s history, and we have to continue to find ways to support law enforcement in the ways that they’re doing work to keep our communities safe, particularly the families who are left to grieve without their loved ones.”

At Monday’s funeral for EPS constables Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan, Edmonton police Chief, Dale McFee, spoke about the increased risks police in Canada currently face.

“We’ve had to mark this moment for eight officers in the last six months in our nation. The entire national and international policing community present here today is very mindful of this, and the increased risks that we now carry. In moments like this we need to attend not just to the moment, but what it means, and how we all must ensure we don’t continue to gather this way. All of us who lead must take up this challenge together,” said McFee.

In his speech, Chief McFee called on leaders to make changes to ensure the number of police officers killed in the line of duty does not keep increasing at the alarming rate it has been in the last six months.

RELATED:

• 8 police officers killed in Canada on the job since September
• Edmonton police announce the death of constable

• Echoes from regimental funeral: Canada’s police forces mourn EPS officers
• IN PHOTOS: Funeral for Edmonton police officers Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan

Professor of Criminology at Mount Royal University, Doug King, believes the increase in violence against police is a social issue, and requires a multi-agency approach.

“It’s riskier to be a police officer today than it was even five years ago. I think a lot of that is coming from the reality that we have more and more illegal firearms on the street…so the enhanced danger that police officers face is directly linked to the absolute increase of illegal firearms that have happened,” said King.

“It has to be addressed by all levels of government, and it also has to be addressed by funding social agencies, and putting more police officers on the street, and those kinds of things.”

Currently, most police forces across Canada require six months of training before field experience. Professor King acknowledges that while ambush situations cannot be predicted or trained for, like the deaths of the two Edmonton constables, he believes longer training periods for police across Canada is a necessary change.

“Are we providing our police officers enough training to be able to do a much, much more dangerous job? The job is much different than it was 20 years ago. And so, are we training our officers, are we giving them the tools that they need to be able to do their jobs safely?”