“In the Line of Duty” Mariette McDonald cries in grief, over her son’s police hat, held on a pillow by his partner. Sgt. Richard McDonald of the Greater Sudbury Regional Police Service was killed July 28, 1999.
In 1978, Ottawa police officers held a special service and tribute for a murdered fellow-officer. That first ceremony expanded over the years to honour all those killed in the line of duty, with new features and modifications that have become part of the tradition. On September 24, 1998, the Government of Canada officially proclaimed the last Sunday of September of every year as Police and Peace Officers’ National Memorial Day.
Rod MacIvor’s photo from the 1999 Parliament Hill service brought home to the public that policemen, often looked upon as somewhat intimidating, are like us, with mothers who mourn deeply when they die … finding some comfort perhaps only later that their child’s life was given in service to us.
Photo editors from across Canada chose this as the Canadian Press News Photo of the Year: a hard-hitting photo that told a story. “To this day,” says Rod, “I can still remember Mrs. McDonald’s cries of pain as she ran toward her son’s hat.”
