I saw this officer at the playground joining in a game of basketball with the kids in town. I never see that around here; I walked up and told him what a great job he was doing, and he was such a nice officer. He was joking with the kids, and they all seemed to have fun. I looked up his name on the Cornwall Police Facebook and saw that he has done this a lot, and he really is giving a great face to the police service. In Cornwall, a lot of people don't like the police, but this officer seems to want to change that, so it's good to see.

Constable Stephen Douglas and Special Constable Christine Douglas of the Barrie Police Service, along with their daughter Autumn, exemplify extraordinary courage and selflessness in their recent actions.

Constable Stephen Douglas, with over two decades of experience in law enforcement, displayed quick thinking and bravery when confronted with a dangerous situation. On August 16, 2023, while at home, he responded promptly to the screams of his neighbour, discovering a violent altercation involving a knife-wielding assailant. Without hesitation, he intervened to protect the victim and initiated emergency response procedures.

Special Constable Christine Douglas, newly recruited to the Barrie Police Service, demonstrated remarkable composure and initiative during the crisis. Arriving at the scene with her daughter Autumn, she swiftly assessed the situation and provided vital aid to the injured victim. Her leadership in coordinating first aid efforts under pressure was instrumental in stabilizing the victim's condition.

Autumn Douglas, despite her young age, displayed remarkable maturity and resourcefulness in assisting her parents during the emergency. Her quick actions in retrieving essential items for first aid contributed to the effective treatment of the victim.

Together, the Douglas family's coordinated efforts resulted in the successful containment of the assailant with the help of the Ontario Provincial, prompt medical attention for the victim, and, ultimately, her survival. Their heroic actions reflect the highest ideals of law enforcement and exemplify the courage and compassion of the Barrie Police Service.

For their extraordinary bravery and decisive actions in saving the life of a fellow citizen, they are deserving of their nomination. Their selfless dedication to public safety and unwavering commitment to duty serve as an inspiration to us all.

Sergeant Adam Carter has been a sworn member of the Niagara Regional Police Service since 1998. He is being nominated for the Police Association of Ontario’s Police Services Hero of the Year Award in the Community Role Model category for his commitment to community engagement, dedication to volunteerism and contributions to Niagara over the past 30 years.

Sgt. Carter is known throughout the region's not-for-profit/charitable community for his community engagement. He has volunteered with St John Ambulance since 1994 and has held several senior volunteer leadership roles, such as Regional Community Services Coordinator. In his 30 years with the organization, he has accumulated over 12,000 volunteer community service hours. The impact of his efforts over the past 3 decades are numerous and best demonstrated by 2 more recent initiatives. In August 2022, he used two weeks of his annual leave so that he could volunteer each day at the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games, and before that in 2020, he volunteered over 1000 hours in only 4 months to help start up a shelter for new immigrants seeking asylum, for them to be able to comply with the governments covid-19 quarantine order.

In 2022 Sgt. Carter started volunteering with a local air cadet squadron. After putting in over 200 hours in the first year, he contributed an additional 300 plus volunteer hours in 2023. In addition to instructing with the youth leadership program, he used his experience with St John Ambulance to teach life-saving skills to the cadets. He developed a first-aid team for the cadets to compete in first-aid competitions. His efforts in developing the new initiative were acknowledged in 2023 when he was awarded the Regional Cadet Support Unit (Central) Commanding Officer’s Medallion for “Fostering Youth Excellence”.

Before working with the cadet program Sgt. Carter, he had been a fixture in the soccer community of Niagara for over 20 years. He was a former university athlete and a member of the Brock Badgers, 1995 National Bronze Medal Team, and after graduation, he became an internationally licenced soccer coach. For more than 2 decades, he impacted the lives of hundreds of young athletes while volunteering in varying capacities with several local clubs. He established himself as one of the premier goalkeeper coaches in the Niagara peninsula, ran his own academy for 6 years, and served as the goalkeeper coach for the Brock Men’s Soccer Program from 2012 – 2017. In 2023, he was recognized by his alma mater and received the Brock University Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award for Community Engagement.

In addition to Sg.t Carter’s personal volunteer efforts, he has also dedicated a large portion of his professional career to community-based policing and community engagement initiatives. During his first five years as a patrol officer, he was heavily involved in the Service’s school liaison program, working with more than a half dozen different schools during his district postings. His efforts in the early 2000s at two local high schools received much media attention. They led to him authoring a proposal for the development of a School Liaison Officer of the Year Award that was accepted by the Deputy Chief and developed into the Service’s Community Police Officer of the Year Award. The combination of both his “on-duty” and “off-duty” community engagement efforts led to his participation on the Service’s Community Strategic Action Plan Committee, a recommendation for appointment to the Niagara Region Children’s Safety Village, Board of Directors by his Superintendent, and was selected as the 2003 Officer of the Year by his District Commander. In 2002 he also received the Queens Golden Jubilee Medal for “Outstanding Community Commitment”.

Professionally, Sgt. Carter is most known for his 16 years as a traffic management and road safety specialist. During this period of his career, he represented the service on several local, provincial and national committees, including the OACP Traffic Committee for 3 years as the Chair of the Collision Reconstruction Subcommittee, the OACP Speed Management Advisory Subcommittee, as Secretary on the Canadian Association of Traffic Accident Investigators and Reconstructionist, and on the Niagara Road Safety Committee. He has also participated in several service-driven community engagement initiatives outside of working hours, such as Cops for Cancer, Ontario Special Olympics Bowling, Help A Child Smile, Chief of Police Challenge for Charity Soccer Games, and as a member of the Canadian Police Memorial Ride to Remember from 2016 – 2022.

Sgt. Carter’s last posting as the Admin Sergeant to a District Commander had him supporting the Service’s community engagement strategy on a daily basis. He regularly liaised with community partners, helping to plan special events such as the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer and the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games Torch Relay. He also assisted with local community-based initiatives, such as their annual Christmas Toy Drive and Adopt a Family. The posting ultimately led to him making the connection to his most recent volunteer commitment, as a member of his town’s Active Transportation Committee. While his participation is as a private citizen, it is his knowledge and expertise as traffic management and road safety specialists that is having an impact on the committee’s ability to recommend safer alternative active transportation options for the residents and visitors to the community.

Sgt. Carter has demonstrated a holistic approach to community service, dedicating all aspects of both his personal and professional life to community engagement. As a community role model, he has set a high volunteer standard. He has demonstrated the ability to draw on experiences from different areas of his life and then use them to impact other community-based organizations positively. His ability to transfer his knowledge, skills and lived experiences, combined with his willingness to volunteer his time, has helped improve his community while impacting and enriching the lives of thousands of families and youth throughout Niagara for over 30 years.

After suffering an operational stress injury in 2016, Sgt. Carter began to educate himself in the field of critical incident stress awareness. He went on to obtain several certifications in the areas of Crisis Intervention, Trauma Response, Mental Health & Wellness, Critical Incident Stress Management, and is a certified Individual and Group Crisis Intervention Instructor with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. He has voluntarily used his experience and training to certify dozens of other healthcare professionals and first responders in these areas over the past five years. He regularly volunteers to provide educational presentations on mental health and wellness for various community and social support groups, such as the local health care system, therapy dog programs, shelter workers, and emergency response volunteers. He also previously volunteered with his service's peer support and crisis intervention teams for three years. He was recognized in 2019 for "peer support assistance" as a "lived experience" volunteer with Badge of Life Canada. He has previously raised funds for Wounded Warriors Canada through voluntary participation in their annual Ride for Mental Health. He continues to champion a better understanding of mental health and improved administrative processes that can be triggers and traumas for those struggling.

He is a most worthy recipient of the Police Association of Ontario’s Police Services Hero of the Year Award as a Community Role Model.

Melissa Styles has been a valued member of York Regional Police since 2004. Her passion for helping others does not go unnoticed. On June 28, 2011, Melissa lost her husband, Constable Garrett Styles in the line of duty. She has turned her tragedy into strength and spends countless hours volunteering her time to help others. Her resiliency has been an inspiration to many. She is considered a role model and a friend.

Melissa is a big supporter of Special Olympics Ontario and has been one of the top fundraisers for the Torch Run and the Polar Plunge. She continues to champion an annual blood donor clinic in Garrett’s name, as well as the Ride for Styles, which has raised over $130,000 for York Region charities.

We are very proud of Melissa and would like to see her recognized for her dedication and loyalty to policing and the community.

I'll never forget the first time I met Katherine over 30 years ago. I was a teen. She had just started her career in policing and was "walking the beat." Katherine stopped to say hello, encouraging us to make positive choices and explaining why she chose policing. She never judged us and spoke with us with compassion and enthusiasm, never condescending or authoritative.

Throughout her career, she has served our community in many roles, but she always leaves an impression where she goes. Katherine leads by example with compassion and empathy. She takes the time to walk with our vulnerable community members, our homeless, and our seniors, and they feel seen and heard. But never take her kindness for weakness. Katherine also shows her leadership strengths by setting goals, maintaining high standards, and valuing accountability. By doing this, she inspires others to do the same.

We are grateful to have Katherine in our community. She is the gold standard of community policing.

Cst. Surjeet Gill is a very strong contender for receiving the Community Role Model Hero Award. He has been a mentor for new international students, teaching them about laws and regulations as newcomers, how to save themselves from scams as newcomers, and how to become police officers. Also, he attends a number of community events, keeping all diverse communities in Windsor together.

Provincial Constable Jared Moore, of the Upper Ottawa Valley OPP detachment, was off duty on February 24th 2024, on a family walk on the shore of Round Lake in Killaloe, ON.

A snowmobile sunk in open water with the operator unable to escape from the frigid water.  Without hesitation for his safety, he ran out to the victim and began to facilitate a rescue.  The operators husband joined Mr Moore in facilitating the rescue and slipped into the water himself.  Mr. Moore was able to rescue both snowmobile operators, who were transported to hospital.

Mr. Moore later attended the hospital and transported both victims back to the site, some 55 miles away and assisted them in loading their equipment for their journey home.

Mr. Moore’s selfless act, compassion and follow-up care on his own time, exemplifies what it means to give of one’s self to the community for the betterment of others.  That, in my view, is going the extra mile.

The Ontario Provincial Police are lucky to have him in their service.

Sgt. Stewart makes a real difference in the lives of those she encounters. She was attentive, communicative, and compassionate to my family during a traumatic time. She went above and beyond for the victims in her care. She changed the way we view police officers. Thank you, Detective Stewart!

In the summer of 2023, I all my ID was stolen by a notorious ID thief and multiple repeat offender.

I worked closely with Detective Constable Anthony Hampton to submit reports of my account activities to the online KPF reporting website.

The ID thief was incredibly prolific. He used my stolen ID and others' IDs to defraud various institutions in Kingston (banks, telcos, etc.) by taking control of our accounts.

I was extremely impressed by Detective Constable Hampton's excellent and swift guidance, which led to not only a speedy arrest of the perpetrator but an even swifter conviction and sentencing.

Anthony buried him under a pile of evidence (some of which came in after the arrest) with his extraordinary attention to detail, thoroughness, and follow-through.

The perpetrator is now serving two years in our Federal Penitentiary system.

When people ask me what my summer was like, I tell them it was like an episode of Batman. Even though the fraudster traumatized me, Anthony kept me focused on reporting the account activity.

He made the experience fun and even exciting - most importantly, cathartic and healing in its swift and satisfying delivery of justice.

I wish I could also nominate all the others involved in this heroic conclusion, especially Detective Silver and the arresting Constables. Also, the Judges and Court Staff for obtaining a swift conviction and the Penitentiary Staff who are keeping this fraudster out of circulation.

Krista has been a mentor at Project Trauma Support, a program for first responders dealing with PTSD. She has often mentored and supported women while they went through the program. Many women looked up to her and considered her a big part of their healing journey. She has compassion for her first responder colleagues and places mental health at the top of her priority.