Fallen officers deserve to be remembered for sacrifices

June 10 marks the anniversary of a tragic day in the history of the Lethbridge Police Service. On June 10, 1913, Paul Smith died on his first shift as Acting Sergeant after he was electrocuted while he was attempting to fix a streetlight. On June 10, 1964, Cst. Calvin Byam and his horse were swept away in a flood while evacuating an island in the river valley.

Smith was a member of the North West Mounted Police before joining the Lethbridge force and was the first municipal police officer to die in the line of duty in Alberta. Smith was single but engaged at the time of his death. Byam was married and had seven children.

In 2017, the Lethbridge Police Service and Lethbridge Police Association installed memorials at the locations that these brave men gave their lives serving the City of Lethbridge. Sunday, an entourage of officers from both the service and association, along with our chaplain, attended the monuments and paid our respects to these men. Their work, contributions and ultimate sacrifice influenced the generations of police officers that followed them and that influence is still felt today.

We can never forget their selflessness and sacrifice. They put their duty to the safety of citizens and the city above everything.

In 1964, Chief James Carpenter, Inspector Max Coupland and Inspector Ralph Michelson donated the “Police Combat Trophy” to award marksmanship. The trophy became known as the Cal Byam trophy and it was a friendly competition amongst the officers from 1964 — 1993 when the trophy was lost. During our renovations the trophy was located and this year we resurrected the competition to honour Byam’s memory. This year’s winner from the non-commissioned ranks was Cst. Don Realini and from the Commissioned ranks, Insp. Jason Dobirstein.

Sunday was also a time to celebrate, reflect and honour the officers that make up the generations since Constables Smith and Byam. A ceremony was held at Chinook High School to present long-service medals to many members of the Lethbridge Police Service. In Alberta, police receive long-service medals that are commissioned at the federal, provincial and municipal levels.

I want to thank all of the dignitaries, family and friends who attended to support the officers. Policing is a great career but officers are exposed to a lot of different things and not all of it is good. It takes a physical and mental toll on an individual and I can tell you from experience the support network of friends and family is key to the required resilience to make it through the milestones these officers celebrated Sunday.

When I arrived in Alberta in 2015, friends in other provinces asked what the most notable difference was between Ontario and Alberta. I would answer that without a doubt it was the overwhelming public support of the police. The public in Alberta appeared to understand that the negative stories shown on U.S. television was NOT reflective of what was happening in Alberta. The average citizen was very appreciative of the police.

I believe the silent majority of citizens still are. If the citizens I speak to when I am out and about are reflective of the majority, they reaffirm that social media is not reflective of the masses. As one told me, “50 uninformed and negative posts on Facebook does not mean the other 99,950 in the city agree with them — your officers do a great job. Tell them to keep it up.”

I concur. I want to say thank you to all the men and women we honoured Sunday for your long service and dedication, as well as all of the younger officers that are following in their footsteps keeping the city, province and country safe.