Police dog handler, father of two was ‘my hero’ his mother says
> CONST. DAVID ROSS
Const. David Ross died doing a job that he loved, said his grief-stricken mother, who described her son as her “hero.”
But while Hélène Rousseau said she is confident she will see him again one day, she expressed sadness that Ross’s 11⁄ 2- year-old son and soon-to-be second child will never know their father.
“I’m a mother who had a son who loved life,” she said, fighting back tears at a news conference on Friday in Victoriaville, Que., where Ross was born.
“I’m proud of my son and everything he was able to accomplish,” she said. “He was my hero. He gives me strength.”
Ross, 32, was a police dog handler who had been working with the RCMP in Moncton since 2007. He had recently celebrated his fourth wedding anniversary on May 22 with his wife, Rachael, who is six months pregnant. The couple, who met at church, were hoping to have four children.
“He was a good father,” said Rousseau. “I feel for his wife and my grandson . . . (who) will probably never remember his father.”
In a photo on Rachael’s Facebook page, the couple are embracing, Rachael in her wedding dress and Ross in his red RCMP dress uniform. Other photos show the couple’s smiling, blond son. Ross last year served as the public face of the canine unit, demonstrating his canine partner Danny’s skills at a policing authority meeting in Dieppe, N.B.
Bertha Darling remembers him as a kind neighbour who made her feel safe. Her son, Richard, remembers him bringing over police dogs. “I just thought no, no they made a mistake,” she said, sobbing. “It’s not Dave.”
Ross was having a barbecue with his family when the call came in on Wednesday night. He rushed to respond and would never return home again. Rousseau said she had spoken to her son over Face Time during the barbecue that day. “I still see his smile,” she said, fighting back tears. “I still see him at the barbecue, burning the bacon.”
It was an emotional news conference for Ross’s family. They described Ross as someone who had a love for hunting and fishing. He studied policing services at La Cité college in Ottawa, where president Lise Bourgeois said he was a “model and exemplary student.”
Ross’s half-brother, Olivier Juneau-Rousseau, said his brother had a great love for animals and would often take him hunting. “I was proud of him,” he said, breaking down and being comforted by his mother. “He was my idol.”
Ross’s mother, when asked for reaction to the arrest of the man accused of murdering her son, said she was pleased, because there could have been more victims. “Life shows me that you have to forgive,” she said. “The justice system will take care of it.”
“Life shows me you have to forgive. The justice system will take care of it.” HÉLÈNE ROUSSEAU CONST. DAVID ROSS’S MOTHER