The Police Association of Ontario (PAO) has announced its 120 nominees for the 2021 Police Services Hero of the Year Award and four of them hail from Barrie.
The annual award is offered to any police officer, civilian police services employee or 9-1-1 dispatcher who went above and beyond the call of duty. It can also be in recognition for their ongoing support and involvement within their respective community.
This year, Barrie police Det. Const. Lindsay White, Const. Chelsea Cabral, Const. Guy Peters and Const. Greg Schaus have all been nominated and will find out if they win at the PAO's virtual annual general meeting in June 2021.
White was described as someone who has a passion for policing with a professional manner. She is also being mentioned for her “immense involvement with the community, helping with Special Olympics and Law Enforcement Torch Run, dragon-boat races and any other type of community event. Det. Const. White truly proves she is committed to her community.”
On top of her service with the police, Const. Cabral also works as a volunteer firefighter and was nominated, in part, for being “outspoken about first-responder mental health, which is extremely helpful for our community.”
Const. Peters was nominated by a person who needed police assistance in their home during an incident with their daughter, who has autism. The anonymous nominator said Peters “treated both of us with respect and his efforts were noticed and he attended a few times after that with a stronger rapport due to familiarity.”
Meanwhile, Const. Schaus is the first face you see walking into the Barrie police station as he handles all of the walk-in reports. He “makes sure that your concerns are addressed and noted to make your experience dealing with police to be a positive one.”
In April, all nominations will be compiled and provided to the PAO awards committee to deliberate and select finalists and winners for each award category in June.
The categories are:
- On-Duty Difference Maker - Uniform Officer (An officer who has gone above and beyond the expectations of the job while on-duty)
- On-Duty Difference Maker - Civilian Police Service Employee (A civilian police service employee who has gone above and beyond the expectations of the job while on-duty)
- Community Role Model (A police officer or civilian police service employee who has made a difference in their community while off-duty)
