"You can shed tears that he is gone, or you can smile because he has lived."
Today at least close to 7,000 police officers, firefighters and paramedics gathered at the Hershey Centre to pay their final respect for a fallen brother, the first Peel Regional Police officer to be killed while on duty in the past quarter-century.
Constable Artem (James) Ochakovsky succumb to his injury in the hospital on Tuesday night March 2nd 2010 surrounded by his family after he suffered a critical head injury in a crash late Monday. The 36 year-old officer was enroute to assist another colleague when his cruiser collided with another vehicle at Steeles Avenue and Airport Road. Originally, Officer Ochakovsky was taken to a Brampton hospital but later transferred to Sunnybrook Hospital. He leaves behind his wife, Erin and their three-year-old son Owen.
Earlier on Wednesday a somber and Peel police Chief Mike Metcalf said, ”We have suffered a great loss. The coming days will be difficult for us as we prepare to pay tribute to a fine young officer who cared for his family and served his community with pride”.
Today at Constable Artem (James) Ochakovsky funeral in a pack Hersey Centre, the Premier of Ontario, Mr. Dalton McGuinty said, “Officers like James aren’t just good at what they do, what they do is good”. He further added that, “These men are heroes every day of their lives, to their communities, to their fellow officers, and most of all, to their families.”
Fighting back tears Mrs. Erin Ochakovsky said "James was the kind of father that every woman dreams of. He was my hero, he was my Prince Charming, he was my everything.”
For more photos see gallery below:-
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