Procession scheduled Nov. 19 for policeman killed in Abbotsford
A public celebration of life has been organized for Abbotsford police Const. John Davidson, who was killed in the line of duty earlier this week.
The ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 19 and will take place at the Abbotsford Centre at 33800 King Rd. Davidson’s family will be present. A procession of uniformed law-enforcement personnel will begin at about noon on MacKenzie Road and head westbound on King Road to the Abbotsford Centre. The ceremony will begin at 1 p.m., but roads will be closed beginning at 11 a.m.
There will be overflow seating at the University of the Fraser Valley’s Envision Athletic Centre, 1395 McKenzie Rd.
Davidson was a police officer for 24 years. He spent the first half of his career with the Northumbria Police in the United Kingdom and joined the Abbotsford force in 2006.
Davidson was first on scene when police were called to a report of a stolen vehicle and a man firing a gun at bystanders in a strip mall in the 3200-block of Mount Lehman Road. Davidson was shot and declared dead shortly after he arrived at hospital.
The suspect was arrested after a brief pursuit, during which police collided with a vehicle at the intersection of Mount Lehman and Fraser Highway. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Oscar Ferdinand Arfmann, 65, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder. He remains in custody.