A Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer died in an accident overnight Sunday into Monday in Strathcona County, Alta., becoming the ninth officer to die on duty since last September.
The RCMP explained that Constable Harvinder Singh Dhami was going to lend a hand to colleagues who were responding to a noise complaint when he crashed head-on into a concrete wall around 2 a.m.
“Despite the intervention of emergency services and civilians, ‘Harvi’ succumbed to his injuries,” said assistant commissioner who heads the RCMP in Alberta, Curtis Zablocki.
“That’s never the kind of news we want to break,” he added.
The 32-year-old police officer, who graduated in 2019 and was assigned to the Strathcona Municipal Detachment, was described by Mr Zablocki as “mature, with a great sense of responsibility, hardworking, reliable and well liked by people around from him”.
“He was always willing to take calls. He always wanted to learn on the job, regardless of the task at hand or the risk,” added the Strathcona County RCMP official, praising his colleague’s “sense of humor”.
Constable Singh Dhami leaves behind his wife and family.
The RCMP declined to answer questions from the media, saying only that more details would be released later.
This is the ninth time that a police officer has died on duty since last September, and the third time in Alberta for a month.
The nine police officers killed on duty since September 12
Andrew Hong
On September 12, Constable Andrew Hong was shot dead, apparently for no reason, at a Tim Hortons in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto.
The suspect then fled and went to a garage in Milton where he had previously worked. There he killed the owner of the business, Shakeel Ashraf, and an employee, Satwinder Singh, before being finally caught and shot dead by the police.
Devon Northrup and Morgan Russell
On October 12, Constables Devon Northrup and Morgan Russell of the South Simcoe Police Service in Ontario were called to respond to a complaint about a reported domestic dispute at an Innisfil residence.
Upon their arrival, the two police officers were invited into the residence, before being shot dead by the sole occupant of the residence, a man who had crouched on the stairs leading to the basement to ensnare the policemen. The suspect was shot by a third officer present during the intervention.
Shaelyn Yang
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Shaelyn Yang, who had been trained to work with people with mental health issues, was stabbed to death while accompanying a City of Burnaby employee who was delivering notices of eviction of homeless people from a park in this municipality in British Columbia.
The officer shot her attacker, Jongwon Ham, before dying. The latter is now facing justice on a charge of first degree murder.
Grzegorz Pierzchala
On December 27, Ontario Provincial Police Constable Grzegorz Pierzchala began his workday with his first-ever solo patrol.
In the afternoon, he was called to intervene on the site of a road exit in Hagersville. He then never suspected that he would be ambushed by two suspects, including Randall McKenzie, a man with a violent past who was the subject of an arrest warrant.
McKenzie and his sidekick, Brandi Stewart-Sperry, were arrested shortly after the events and charged with the first degree murder of Constable Pierzchala.
Brett Ryan and Travis Jordan
On March 16, officers Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan – who was about to become a first-time dad – were responding to a call for a “family dispute” in an Edmonton apartment when they were shot, without having could reply.
The suspect then took his own life, police said, while his wife was seriously injured.
Maureen Breau
On March 27, Sergeant Maureen Breau, who had more than 20 years of experience with the Sûreté du Québec, was stabbed to death during an intervention with a madman in Louiseville.
A colleague of Maureen Breau was also injured during the intervention, while the suspect was shot dead.
Harvinder Singh Dhami
On the night of April 9 to 10, Constable Singh Dhami was on his way to lend a hand to colleagues when he hit a concrete wall with his patrol vehicle. Despite the intervention of the emergency services, his death could only be confirmed.
Number of police officers killed per year
- 2023: 4
- 2022: 5
- 2021: 2
- 2020: 3
- 2019: 1
Of the number, five were killed in accidents, two were stabbed and eight were shot.