Bench dedicated to Catherine Campbell unveiled

A huge crowd turned out Saturday to honour the memory of a fallen police officer and enjoy some family fun on Constable Catherine Campbell’s Kids Awareness Day.

A bench dedicated to Campbell, who grew up in Stellarton and was a member of the Stellarton Fire Department for 10 years, was unveiled as part of the proceedings. Contributing to its sponsorship were the Atlantic Police Association, local 102 and the Town of Truro.

During the bench dedication, Const. Shari Pictou called Campbell “a very special and important part of our police family.”

“We are honouring her today, honouring her contribution, not only to her community, but to her friends, her family and especially to her police family.”

The bench is situated under a stately maple, which served as a shrine to Campbell in the days following her death as the public left flowers and other items at its base. The bench has a plaque with her name and badge number and faces the Truro Police Service office.

Pictou called Const. Karen Harling, also a dear friend of Campbell, a driving force in seeing the memorial bench become a reality.

“It was her mission to preserve Catherine’s memory. So as we go about our daily chores, our daily business of the police grind, we have this bench that we can look out to or take a moment and sit down and reflect.”

Campbell’s parents, Susan and Dwight, were on hand for the day’s events as were other family members and police and fire personnel.

The day included a barbecue, demonstrations, games for kids and a tour of the police facilities. The event coincided with the end to Police Week.