Ice rescuers among those honoured by NAPS

For outstanding bravery above the call of duty, Nishnawbe Aski Police Const. Jesse Einarson was one of more than a dozen officers recognized at the fourth annual Honours and Awards Ceremony May 13 in Thunder Bay.
Sgt. Jackie George, MC for the evening’s ceremony, described the Oct. 3 incident in Sandy Lake which led to Einarson, a two-year veteran of NAPS, to receive the award.
At 4:37 a.m., off-duty officers received a call there was a female holding a gun to her chest.
“Const. Einarson responded to this call alone and arrived to find the subject in the bedroom with a 12-gauge shotgun,” George said. “Other members of (Sandy Lake chief and) council attended and attempted to talk her into putting the gun down. The subject was sitting on a chair with the end of the gun on the floor and it was facing into her chest. She also had a broom in her hand with the end of the broom on the trigger.”
Einarson spoke to the subject for 20 minutes and coached her into giving him the gun.
“When I arrived at the scene, all I knew was there was a suicidal woman in the home with a gun,” Einarson said, following the ceremony. “When I arrived at the home, I met her family and they told me where to find her.”
Communicating with the woman came naturally, he said.
“All my training came back to me,” he said. “We’re trained to talk to people in that position. I talked about the positives in her life, all the things she had to live for. After 20-30 minutes, she broke down and gave me the gun.”
The gun was later found to have had four rounds in the chamber. It had previously been fired to see if it worked, George said.
A pair of officers in Attawapiskat also risked their lives to save a resident of the community they work in.
Constable Edward Sutherland and Paul Auger earned the lifesaving award at the ceremony.
The incident began at 5:45 p.m. when police in Attawapiskat were advised of a suicidal male who had ventured on the Attawapiskat River during the ice break.
“Police arrived on the scene and witnessed the male standing on the river which consisted of broken ice approximately 20 meters from the river bank,” George said, describing the incident. “Auger immediately advised the male to come to shore and talk but he refused.”
After 30 minutes of negotiation by both officers, the man was within five feet of Auger but then decided to venture further onto the ice and fell through.
Both Auger and Sutherland dashed out on the ice to rescue the male and in the process both officers fell in the freezing waters while holding on to the male.
Despite the equipment he was wearing, Sutherland described it as a harrowing experience.
“The ice flowing by at such speeds, it felt like 1,000 needles stabbing me in the shins,” he said. “I couldn’t touch the bottom.”
Sutherland was quick to point out Canadian Rangers and former NAPS Const. Cindy Hourtevenko provided significant help in bringing the rescued man to shore.
Sutherland has been an officer with NAPS since 2005. Auger joined NAPS in 2007 and became a member of bicycle patrol unit last year.
Award recipients
Officer of the Year
Mario Blasizzo
Civilian of the Year
Diane Genier
Investigation
Det.-Const. Trevor Martin
Bravery
Const. Jesse Einrason
Livesaving
Const. Edward Sutherland
Const. Paul Auger
Community Service
Const. Marc Beauparlant
Wilfred Chum Coach Officer Award
Const. Amanda Isaac
Chief of Police Citation
Const. Clinton Patrick (lifesaving)
Const. Dale Beaver (bravery)
Jennifer Mills (lifesaving)
Travis Jones (lifesaving)
Dan Baxter (lifesaving)
Pikangikum Police Sgt.
Jerry Mosquito (lifesaving)
Chief of Police Commendation
Const. Stacey Gordon (community service)
Const. Cory Legarde (community service)
Kingfisher Lake Chief James
Mamakwa (community service)
Governor General Exemplary Service Medal
Sgt. David Nakogee
St. John Ambulance
Const. Mario Blasizzo
Recognition of Service
Five years of dedicated
service
Const. Keith Nickoshie
Det. Const. Brad Duce
Const. Leah Menzies
Const. Colin Woods
Dan Duncan
Gordon Wabasse
Det. Const. Alex Missewace
10 years of dedicated
service
Insp. Pierre Guerard
Const. Will Carson
Const. June Quachegan
Const. Gordon Eshkakogan
Const. Tammy Gregoire
Sgt. Nelson Racicot
15 years of dedicated
service
Det. Const. Jeannie Burke
Diane Genier
Senior Const. Lynda Jack
Michelle Lamarche
Danielle Stewart