Eight Island police officers receive bravery awards

Two Nanaimo officers who searched for the man who had just shot four people at a mill, a Mountie who came to the aid of the shooting victims, a Victoria officer who moved out residents during a house fire and three West Shore officers who prevented people from taking their lives are among those honoured for bravery by the lieutenant-governor.

Eight Island police officers were among the 56 officers who received bravery awards from Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon and Solicitor General Mike Morris during the B.C. police honours night.

Sgt. Paul Minkley and Const. David Buchanan, formerly with Nanaimo RCMP, were given awards of valour for entering a building to search for Kevin Addison, after he used a sawed-off shotgun to kill two former co-workers and injured two others at the Western Forest Products mill on April 30, 2014.

Nanaimo RCMP Const. Michael Gibson was given a meritorious service award for giving first aid to the shooting victims.

West Shore RCMP Cpl. Mitchell Fiddick and Const. Marc Julien, now with Central Okanagan Traffic Services, were given awards of valour for saving an unresponsive, suicidal male from an exhaustfilled garage in Colwood on March 13, 2016. Daniel Penney, 51, was later charged with second-degree murder in the death of his estranged wife, Mary Caitlin Walton.

The same honour was given to Const. Justin Floyd, also of West Shore RCMP, for preventing a suicidal woman from jumping off a cliff on Feb. 17, 2016.

Victoria police Const. Andre Almeida was presented with a meritorious service award for helping rescue residents on Johnson Street threatened by a house fire that killed three people on Feb. 15, 2013.

Another Nanaimo Mountie, who cannot be named, was given a meritorious service award for developing a working group to improve services and reduce risks for sex-trade workers.