Fredericton funeral to be huge
FREDERICTON — Thousands of police officers and first responders from across the country are expected to attend a regimental funeral Saturday for two Fredericton constables killed in the line of duty, in what’s expected to be a strong show of support for a police force in mourning.
Martin Gaudet, Fredericton’s deputy police chief, said Wednesday that organizing the event is a “monumental task” as members of the force grieve the loss of constables Robb Costello and Sara Burns.
“The hardest thing for me in regards to arranging all of this is to simply move on one hour at a time or one day at a time,” Gaudet said Wednesday outside the Fredericton police department.
“We are going to celebrate their lives and we’re going to do it with dignity and with respect. That’s the task and we’re not going to fail.”
He said a large portion of those who gather at the Aitken University Centre will be uniformed officers from around the country.
“We are expecting thousands of law-enforcement personnel and first responders from around the continent to join us to pay tribute to our fallen officers,” Gaudet said.
The police constables were gunned down during a shooting at a north-end Fredericton apartment complex Friday that also claimed the lives of Bobbie Lee Wright and Donnie Robichaud.
The Burns family issued a statement Wednesday, explaining that they have been quiet only because she was “the most private person any of us have ever met.”
“All this attention would be terrifying to her,” said her husband, Steven Burns.
“Instead, she would want each and every person who is grieving to know that she absolutely loved what she did for a living and the most important people in her world were her two families, her immediate family and the Fredericton Police Force.”
He said she could “brighten a room with her smile in an instant and make anyone feel at ease seconds later with just a few words.
“Sara was put on this earth to help people and everything she has ever done in life was to help people,” Burns said. “We are so proud of the person and human being that she was, and we will miss her dearly.”
He added that, “Sara would insist that the Bobbie Lee Wright and Donald Adam Robichaud not be forgotten because their family and friends are grieving no less and their lives are no less important.”
Matthew Vincent Raymond has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder. He is set to appear in court on Aug. 27.
Lawyers appeared in court Wednesday to discuss a publication ban on certain court documents in the case.