Loss of Toronto officer hits police community hard

[dwaxman1]

Very sad story!







Updated: Thu Jan. 13 2011 8:30:19 AM CTV.ca News Staff



Police across the country are mourning the death of one of their own, a day after a Toronto sergeant was killed in the line of duty while trying to stop a stolen snowplow.



Sgt. Ryan Russell is being remembered for his bravery on the last day of his life, as well as his service to the public and his roles as a police officer, father and husband.



Russell, an 11-year Toronto police veteran, died Wednesday after being hit by a snowplow that had been stolen and driven erratically along city streets.



A suspect was later arrested and was treated in the same emergency room where Russell died hours earlier. The officer's death is now being investigated as a homicide.



The 35-year-old Russell is survived by a wife and two-year-old son, who are grieving his loss along with friends, colleagues and the wider police community.



Mike McCormack, the president of the Toronto Police Association, knew Russell personally and was one of the first to learn of his death.



"It was one of the worst days of my life. Absolutely, the worst nightmare you can imagine," McCormack told CTV's Canada AM during an interview in Toronto on Thursday morning.



McCormack met Russell's wife at the hospital and was present when she learned of her husband's death.



"She came to the hospital and Chief (Bill) Blair and myself, we sat down … and broke her the news," he said.



"She is in total shock and it's a real difficult thing for her to be going through."



The police community will rally around the Russell family, McCormack said, as they go through one of the darkest moments of their lives.



"We feel as if we've all lost a family member, but we really rally behind our family in times of need," he said.



The pain was felt by police across the country, with many police leaders expressing their grief about Russell's death.



Robert Herman, the president of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and the chief of police in Thunder Bay, paid tribute to the sacrifice Russell made protecting the public.



"His death in the line of duty touches all police officers and represents the greatest sacrifice that an officer can make for his or her fellow citizens. He must be remembered as a genuine Canadian hero," Herman said in a statement released Wednesday.



Charles Momy, the president of the Canadian Police Association, said officers across Canada will be present to honour Russell's memory when a service is arranged.



"There's no doubt in my mind that when the funeral arrangements are made for Sgt. Russell, we will again see thousands of police officers descend down on Toronto for the funeral," Momy told CTV News Channel from Ottawa on Wednesday.



Russell had recently been promoted to the rank of sergeant, supervising officers working in 52 Division.



Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said the young sergeant had been well-liked and earned the respect of his fellow officers.



"He really made a strong impression upon them and are mourning that loss today," Blair said, when speaking to reporters about Russell's death on Wednesday.



The fallen officer is the son of Glen Russell, a retired officer who also served with Toronto police.



Retired homicide detective Dave Perry remembers meeting Russell's father when working for the Toronto police years ago.



"Anybody who joined the Toronto Police Service back in the 70s when they had a big, mass hiring, knew Glen and knew him as a very hard-working, jovial, happy police officer," Perry said during an interview with CTV's Canada AM on Thursday morning.



Perry said the sons and daughters of many police officers end up in the same line of work as their parents.



And with Ryan Russell's death, Perry said he thinks "it just adds an extra piece to this horrible tragedy, the fact that his father served so proudly for so many years and my heart goes out to Glen and his entire family for what's happened here."



With files from The Canadian Press