Sergeant Lionel Bourdon grabs the radio from his patrol car, as he has done thousands of times. He hesitates for a few seconds. Looks at the crowd gathered around him, then exchanges a few words with the agent at the end of the line. “10-19,” he finally said. The code to announce that he has finished his shift. Its very last, after 58 years of service.
Just like that, Canada’s longest serving police officer ended his career on Thursday afternoon, to thunderous applause. “It’s funny,” he said afterwards.
Mounted police, guard of honour, flashing lights, parade and bagpipes: the Longueuil agglomeration police department (SPAL) celebrated Mr. Bourdon’s retirement in style.
At almost 79 years old – Lionel Bourdon will celebrate his birthday at the end of June – the policeman has gone through the ages. On Thursday, he wore his uniform for the last time at the SPAL headquarters on Boulevard Curé-Labelle Ouest.
A very different uniform from the one he donned in 1965, at the age of 20. “It was a pride to put on the uniform the first day, when you always wanted to be a police officer,” he recalls.
As far back as he can remember, the police have been part of his life. And his dreams. “When I was young, we lived opposite the police station, so we knew them all,” he says.
The police world then accompanied him for almost 60 years. He, but also his family, present for the occasion on Thursday. “The police was his life,” sums up his spouse, Francine Bonin-Bourdon. “We accepted that. We supported him. »
“The police are also part of our life,” says his daughter Annie Bourdon. It’s important for us as much as for him. It will leave a void. »
A living memory
Lionel Bourdon did not expect such honors to celebrate his departure. There were officers from the Montreal Police Service (SPVM), the Sûreté du Québec and even the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on site.
“I just can’t believe it,” he says.
In 2020, Lionel Bourdon received a medal from the National Assembly for his 55 years of service. Already considered the oldest serving police officer in the country, he has witnessed the evolution of the profession.
It’s hard to imagine that when he started out, he went around the businesses in his area to make sure their doors were locked at night.
He was then earning $72 a week.
Since then, “everything has changed,” he says. Investigative techniques, including the use of DNA, have emerged. Firearms have evolved. Women joined the police. A change “surprising, but it went very well,” recalls Mr. Bourdon.
It is because he was able to adjust to the changes that he was able to stay so long in the police force, believes his spouse.
An eventful life
Lionel Bourdon worked as a patrol, then as a detective in criminal investigations. He was later appointed Sergeant in the Gendarmerie.
The investigation that struck him the most was the kidnapping of the Wells Fargo manager and his family in the 1970s. It was the largest extortion case in Canada at the time, according to a article published in Le Reflet.
Mr. Bourdon had then worked together with agents of the Sûreté du Québec to resolve the crisis.
Since 2008, the sergeant was responsible for the road safety team. He still had to do the aptitude tests on a regular basis (like shooting or driving). Tests that he passed with flying colors, notes Ghislain Vallière, public relations officer for the SPAL.
“His passion, his dedication and his professionalism have been a source of inspiration for his colleagues throughout his career,” said the City of Longueuil in a press release.
Now that Mr Bourdon has hung up his uniform, his son Dominic hopes he can “enjoy life and his family”. His wife is delighted that the couple will be able to “take time for us, and travel. »
But for the ex-sergeant, the police will never be far away. His retirement plan: participate in the creation of a police museum in Longueuil. Because, according to him, “it’s the best job in the world”.