A RCMP regimental memorial service is underway for Const. Heidi Stevenson, who was killed in the line of duty during the mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020.
The RCMP failed to hold a regimental funeral after Stevenson’s death due to the restrictions of COVID-19 in effect at the time, and instead held a private family funeral.
The office is not open to the public, but people were encouraged to gather along the route of the uniformed employees of Forest Hills Parkway before the service. RCMP members, military, police and emergency services moved from St. Vincent de Paul Church to Cole Harbor Place.
Cole Harbor resident Sherry McBride said her son is a member of the mountains and believes it is crucial to show his personal support along the route.
The procession leads to a memorial service at the const. Heidi Stevenson in Cole Harbor, NS, on June 29, 2022 (Steve Lawrence / CBC News)
“Because of everything we went through, with COVID, with Portapique, with the helicopter crash, the Snowbirds, it was so much for all of Nova Scotia,” McBride said with tears in his eyes.
“We have to be here to show our respect for Heidi, to show respect to the RCMP and every police force, what they face every day.”
The memorial procession arrived at Cole Harbor Place for const. Heidi Stevenson ‘s service. The RCMP member was among 22 people killed in a mass shooting two years ago
Hundreds of RCMPs, police and first aid teams joined from across Canada pic.twitter.com/OybNLWXfXS
– @ hkryan17
Another resident, Donna Peirce, repeated the opinion.
“We’ve never been through something like this, I hope we never do it again, God willing,” Pierce said.
She added that despite the fact that more than two years have passed since Stevenson’s assassination, it is important to honor the work she and other RCMP members have done during the shooting.
During the service, Stevenson’s friends addressed the audience and paid tribute to her memory.
RCMP members escorted the hearse to a regimental memorial service. Heidi Stevenson, killed in the line of duty during the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia on June 29, 2022 (Andrew Vaughan / The Canadian Press)
Childhood friend Claire McIntyre said Stevenson was a force from the moment he met her.
McIntyre said she was initially surprised by Stevenson’s decision to join the RCMP, but always had an intuitive sense of right and wrong.
“She did what was right, even if it wasn’t the popular choice,” McIntyre said.
Another childhood friend, Angela McKnight, recalled how Stevenson met the love of his life, her husband Dean, while working as a liaison officer at Cole Harbor High School. They had two children, Connor and Ava, who also attended today’s ceremony.
“I don’t know a better, bigger, firmer, more determined woman than her,” McKnight said through tears.
Twenty-two people died on April 18 and 19, 2020. Top row left: Gina Gulet, Dawn Gulenchin, Jolin Oliver, Frank Gulenchin, Sean McLeod, Alana Jenkins. Second row: John Hall, Lisa McCully, Joey Weber, Heidi Stevenson, Heather O’Brien and Jamie Blair. Third row from the top: Kristen Beaton, Lillian Campbell, Joan Thomas, Peter Bond, Tom Bagley and Greg Blair. Bottom row: Emily Tuck, Joy Bond, Corey Ellison and Aaron Tuck. (CBC)
Stevenson was one of 22 people killed in the worst mass shooting in modern Canadian history. She was on duty on the morning of April 19, 2020, in the Shubenakadie area, when a gunman driving a replica of an RCMP cruiser crashed his car into her patrol car.
The investigation revealed that the 49-year-old police officer exchanged gunfire with the suspect and it appears that fragments of one of her bullets hit him in the head.
Stevenson grew up in Antigonish, NS, and graduated from Acadia University in Wolfville, NS, with a bachelor’s degree in science.
During her 23 years at RCMP, she participated in Musical Ride and worked as a drug recognition expert in both communications and community policing.
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