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A member of the Toronto Police touches the casket of Constable Marc Pinizzotto on Wednesday.Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press
The recent killings of three police officers, including this week’s daylight shootout in Montreal, are prompting calls for action to better protect those in law enforcement.
Thousands of police officers, community members and political leaders gathered on Wednesday for the Toronto funeral of one of the slain officers, Marc Pinizzotto, who was killed earlier this month during a police raid on a North York apartment linked to a probe into a shooting at the U.S consulate.
The 43-year-old hockey coach, who played professionally in Europe before joining the police, was eulogized by his 14-year-old twin children, Daniella and Domenic, at a televised ceremony inside the Toronto Congress Centre, in the city’s northwest.
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Among the many dignitaries in attendance was Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who is calling for an emergency discussion about police safety with the country’s premiers at the upcoming Council of the Federation meeting in Charlottetown next month.
It is clear that this June has been an exceptionally deadly month for police officers in Canada. But such fatal events remain rare overall, averaging two or three a year.
Mr. Ford said in a letter to the premiers’ council chair, Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz, that Canadians “cannot allow ourselves to become numb to these tragic events.” He asked for the issue to be added to the agenda so premiers “can work together to address this alarming trend.”
Mr. Lantz said in an e-mailed statement that he looked forward to having Mr. Ford raise the issue at the July meeting, calling the recent incidents “deeply disturbing.”
In his letter, Mr. Ford said six officer injuries this month – three of them fatal – are stoking his call for national action.
But he offered no specific recommendations. And a review of each case shows that the suspects allegedly involved in the violence against officers came to police attention for different reasons – including mental health, gangsterism, radical extremism and an assault.
On June 9, in the remote community of Hearst, Ont., Ontario Provincial Police Constable Tarun Bali was struck by a car. OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique later said an 18-year-old man had escaped from a hospital, where he was being assessed under the Mental Health Act. The teen is now facing charges of murder, flight from police and dangerous driving.
On June 11, Toronto Police Service Constable Pinizzotto, a member of the force’s tactical squad, was shot and killed during the planned takedown of an alleged shooters-for-hire network. A 19-year-old target of the raid allegedly fired a deadly bullet as officers stormed his apartment and has since been charged with murder.
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Montreal police on Tuesday work the scene of a shooting, which killed Constable Mohamed Lamine Benredouane and seriously wounded another officer.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
On Monday, two police officers were shot in a deadly gun battle on the streets of Montreal involving a 25-year-old suspected extremist, who was also killed. Constable Mohamed Lamine Benredouane was killed and a female officer was seriously wounded. A civilian was also killed in the crossfire. A private family funeral for the officer was scheduled for Wednesday evening and police say a public gathering will be held at a later date.
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On Sunday, two RCMP officers were shot and seriously wounded as they responded to a call involving a disturbance at a home in Melville, Sask. A 55-year-old man was arrested after a long standoff, and is facing two counts of attempted murder and firearms charges.
In a statement on social media on Wednesday, federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree paid tribute to the dead and injured officers, including Constable Pinizzotto: “These deaths weigh heavily on every officer across Canada.”
University of Ottawa criminologist Justin Piché responded to Mr. Ford’s letter by e-mailing politicians across Canada to say that today’s on-duty death rates for police officers are less than those seen in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
Other academics point out that deadly interactions sometimes appear to come in waves. Rick Parent, a former police officer and retired Simon Fraser University lecturer, published research this spring showing a spike in the killings of police officers during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic period.
Mr. Parent said in an interview that between just April, 2020, and September, 2023, 15 officers were killed across Canada – an amount he said was unusual.
While he said that between two and three officers are killed on average each year, going back to 1980, some years see no deaths at all. Mr. Parent’s research shows this was the case as recently as 2024 and 2025.
At Wednesday’s funeral, Constable Pinizzotto’s son, Domenic, whose hockey team was among those his dad coached, said he hoped to follow in his footsteps: “My dad inspired a lot of people, from hockey to kids, through his work. But most of all he inspired me. And I want to be the same man he was when I grow up, and do the same job after my hockey career.”
His daughter, Daniella, said her dad was her best friend: “Although I used to get embarrassed to hold your hand in public, I would do anything to do it one last time.”
During the funeral procession, waiting officers lining the road snapped to attention and saluted as the hearse rolled by. Construction workers stood on neighbouring buildings’ roofs and removed their hard hats to watch the procession.
Other people travelled to watch the funeral procession to pay their respects.
Brooklyn Brunelle, who said her husband is a Toronto Police officer, brought her five-month-old son to watch the march. She dressed him in a Toronto Police T-shirt, with a custom-made pacifier displaying his father’s badge number.
Ms. Brunelle said that since the recent police deaths, she’s more nervous about her husband’s safety on the job.
“It’s terrifying and upsetting to be honest. I never want him going to work and not making it home,” she said, choking back tears.
Speaking to reporters after the funeral, Clayton Campbell, president of the Toronto Police Association, which represents front-line officers, said while he appreciates politicians expressing support for law enforcement, there should be increased accountability when people harm police.
“Members are human beings. In the back of their minds, they’re thinking, ‘If this could happen to a highly trained tactical officer, that they could be murdered in the line of duty, what about me?’ ” he said.
With a report from Marieke Walsh