'We still have a role to play'

Windsor police officers took time Monday to remember their departed colleagues.

The Windsor Police Service held its 29th annual Police Memorial Appreciation Service at All Saints Church in downtown Windsor. Its purpose is to not only remember the officers who have fallen in the line of duty but also retired officers who passed away since last year's service.

Officers from the Canada Border Services Agency, the Ontario Provincial Police, the RCMP, and the Michigan State Police were among the attendees, along with Windsor firefighters. Mayor Drew Dilkens attended along with city councillors Jo-Anne Gignac and Kieran McKenzie.

The 45-minute interfaith service, part of the Windsor Police Service's annual Police Week observances, featured an honour guard procession, scripture readings, and a memorial tribute to the nine retired Windsor officers who died in the past year. Loved ones of those officers laid a single rose at the front of the church.

One of those loved ones was Michael Langlois, a retired Windsor officer whose father, retired Inspector Lawrence Langlois, passed away this year.

"This is something I've been coming to with my father for a number of years, to honour those who had served for many, many years before us," said Langlois. "So it's fitting and it's an incredible tribute to those who have sacrificed a lot over the years."

In addition to the elder Langlois, another retired inspector passed away this year, along with a sergeant and six constables.

Five officers have been killed in the line of duty since 1937, the most recent being Senior Constable John Atkinson, who was shot and killed May 5, 2006, while investigating suspicious activity at a Seminole Avenue convenience store.

In the sermon, Church of the Ascension pastor and Windsor police chaplain Rev. Lance Smith provided superhero analogies to describe the role police officers play in the community and reiterated that that role is something that never goes away.

"We still have a role to play," said Rev. Smith, adding that the fallen officers "chose a noble path."

A Windsor Police bagpiper plays "Amazing Grace" at the annual Memorial and Appreciation Service at All Saints Church, May 13, 2019. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.

The Reverend Lance Smith, a chaplain with the Windsor Police, delivers the message at the Memorial and Appreciation Service at All Saints Church, May 13, 2019. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.

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