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Governor General announces eleven Bravery DecorationsMay 24, 2006 OTTAWA–Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, announced today the awarding of eleven Bravery Decorations. Recipients will be invited to receive their decorations at a ceremony to be held at Rideau Hall at a date to be confirmed. On the recommendation of the Canadian Decorations Advisory Committee (Bravery), the Governor General has announced the following awards: Medal of Bravery
The recipients’ citations are enclosed in the annex. The Decorations for Bravery were established in 1972 as part of the Canadian Honours System. The Cross of Valour is awarded for acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril. The Star of Courage is awarded for acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril. The Medal of Bravery is awarded for acts of bravery in hazardous circumstances. -30- Media information Public information CITATIONS
On June 11, 2003, these four police officers were instrumental in the arrest of a deranged, suicidal and heavily armed fugitive following a day-long manhunt marked by gunfire, near Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. After a series of altercations, which included shooting at officers, the suspect crashed his vehicle at high speed into Cst. Brekker’s stopped police cruiser, injuring him before escaping in his own vehicle. The four officers pursued the gunman even though it was obvious that he had a high-powered weapon that he was prepared to fire in their direction. The suspect got out of his vehicle on the edge of a heavily populated neighborhood and began shooting at all four officers with a hunting rifle. An RCMP emergency response team finally surrounded the area, cornered and fatally wounded the suspect, ending an extremely dangerous situation that lasted some 20 hours through two rural counties of Nova Scotia. RCMP Constable Jonathan Roger Brown, M.B., Langley, British Columbia On December 25, 2004, Constables Jonathan Brown and Leane McNeill saved two people from a fiery death in White Rock, British Columbia. Receiving no response to their shouts, the officers ran up an outside staircase to the second-floor apartment, forced open the door and entered the smoke-filled residence. Crawling on the floor, Cst. McNeill located the first victim in her bedroom. After waking the teenager with some difficulty, she assisted her outside to safety while Cst. Brown, feeling his way on his hands and knees, found an unconscious young male in an adjoining bedroom. The disoriented victim was helped out of the burning building by Cst. McNeill who had returned, while Cst. Brown remained inside to look for other possible victims until he was forced to exit due to the heavy smoke. RCMP Constable Chad William Greig, M.B., Surrey, British Columbia On January 25, 2004, RCMP Cst. Chad Greig risked his life to prevent a suicidal woman from jumping off the Fraser River Bridge, near Hope, British Columbia. First at the scene, Cst. Greig managed to get close enough to the aggressive victim to grab her by her jacket to prevent her from falling to her death. Cst. Greig was partially dragged over the bridge railing by the heavy woman who repeatedly hit him to free herself from his grip. At that moment, two other police officers arrived to provide assistance. Although the woman continued her violent struggle, the three officers were able to pull her from the edge of the bridge and back to safety. Kenneth Peter Klassen, M.B., Portage La Prairie, Manitoba On October 28, 2003, in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, Kenneth Klassen and Brent McDonald rescued three children trapped inside a burning house. Informed by the mother that the children were still in the house, Mr. Klassen raced through the front door but was forced to retreat due to the heat and heavy smoke. Undeterred, he made his way back through the choking fumes and, guided by the children’s whimpering, crawled on his hands and knees until he located the six-month-old twin girls in the hallway and carried them out one by one. Alerted that a third child was missing, Mr. McDonald, together with Mr. Klassen, ran back into the house to rescue the six-year-old boy, whom they found hiding in a closet under a pile of coats. William Thomas Richard Nimick, M.B., Lucan, Ontario On October 27, 2003, then 12-year-old William Nimick was injured while helping his sister who was being attacked by a vicious dog in Lucan, Ontario. Shortly after they stepped off their school bus, the 40-kilogram animal knocked the girl down and tried to bite her face. William immediately intervened and began hitting the dog with a metal rod until it broke and he was knocked to the ground by the aggressive animal. While shouting at his sister to run into the house, William defended himself by kicking at the dog, which bit him repeatedly on the arms. Distracted by the slamming of the door, the dog finally let go of William, allowing him to escape and safely reach the house. RCMP Constable Eyjolfur Sidney Smith, M.B., Whitehorse, Yukon Territory On October 24, 2004, Cst. Eyjolfur Smith risked his life to rescue a man from a burning apartment building in Whitehorse, Yukon. Directed by tenants who were evacuating the housing complex, Cst. Smith ran to the third floor to search for remaining occupants. When he entered the victim’s apartment, the smouldering fire suddenly reignited and the door shut behind him, momentarily trapping him in the inferno. Undeterred, he crawled through the thick black smoke to the living room where he located the victim, unconscious and on fire. After several failed attempts to lift the heavy man from the floor, Cst. Smith managed to drag him outside the burning apartment and into the hallway. Sadly, despite Cst. Smith’s best efforts, the fire claimed the victim’s life. |
