Western Ontario’s finest were honored for various acts of heroism.
The OPP and St John’s Ambulance honored various officers and civilians at their Awards Ceremony in Wingham on Friday afternoon
Many officers from the area were honored for 20, 25, 30 and 40 years of courageous and compassionate service.
Commissioner Chris Lewis was on hand to honor lifesaving and bravery.
Lewis told the crowd that we are all living in an era of change and the OPP still has a lot of work to do, but he said he was honored to be able to say thank you to the days heroes.
Lewis also touched on the life and tragic death of Constable Vu Pham.
The Huron County officer was gunned down March 8th.
Lewis admitted to the crowd that Pham’s death was one of the hardest he’s had to deal with in his 30 years with the force.
Pham’s wife Heather was on hand with their three children to accept Vu’s award from the Commissioner and St John’s Ambulance. Constable Dell Mercey, Constable Allan Penn and Constable Adam Nicholson were honored along with Pham.
Lewis called Constable Mercey’s efforts the day of the shooting remarkable, referring to Mercey as a true hero within our community.
Vu Pham’s funeral command team was honored for their hard work during a difficult time.
Amongst the many honorees was Ernest Herrfort, of Listowel.
Herrfort was presented with the Commissioner’s Citation for Bravery.
Herrfort was confronted at home back on December 19th 2009 with a man carrying two loaded guns and was able to disarm the man, saving his family and the mans lives.
Herrfort says he doesn’t feel like a hero, he just did what he had to do.
