LPS Regimental Sgt. Major Shawn Davis (left) and Chaplain Aaron Moore (right) in front of the LPS Wall of Honour, which recognizes the two LPS members who have died in the line of duty. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

LPS honours slain Calgary police officer, offering support to members

Jan 6, 2021 | 2:20 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) is continuing to honour the life and legacy of a police officer who was killed in the line of duty this past weekend.

On New Year’s Eve, Sgt. Andrew Harnett, 37, conducted a traffic stop in Calgary and was hit by the car and dragged a distance before dying shortly afterward in hospital.

LPS Regimental Sgt. Major Shawn Davis says it is incidents like these that remind him of just how connected their jobs and lives are in law enforcement.

“Our members across the world, across Canada, and Alberta, put ourselves in situations where most people don’t want to be. Unfortunately, with that, we lose members. It’s extremely sad and every time these happen – when we have one that happens in States, we all grieve – when it happens here in Canada, we grieve even more.”

Davis had only briefly met Harnett a few times but could tell that he was a kind and strong-spirited man.

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Due to the close proximity to Calgary, several other members of the local police force related to Harnett on a more personal level.

“One of our members here in Lethbridge was one of Andy’s training officers back in Calgary when he worked in Calgary. We have another member here who was a very close personal friend with him. There’s only a two-hour separation – most of us either have met him, some know him, or we definitely know and have friends who are friends in the service so we’re grieving that way.”

Another aspect of this particular incident for Davis was just how dangerous traffic stops can be.

In other investigations, the attending officers might know a lot of details about a suspect and what potential risks they could face. For traffic stops, it is a bit different.

“We don’t know who it is. We may run a license plate and we may see a face but we don’t know if that’s you or if it’s that person. We don’t know what your intent is, we don’t know what you’re going for so we may be going up thinking, ‘man, it’s just a seatbelt’ or it’s just a small violation that we’re going for, but that person knows now all the facts and they’re thinking, ‘I’m not going back to jail’ or I’ve done A, B, or C.”

Davis was one of five LPS members who took part in a formal procession in Calgary on Tuesday for Sgt. Harnett.

READ MORE: Formal procession held for Calgary police officer killed in the line of duty

He has been part of several processions and police funerals over the years and says they never get easier, but planning them and training officers how to conduct themselves in them is part of his job.

Davis is now working with a team in Calgary to plan a funeral for either Friday or Saturday and will try to make sure that they can hold an appropriate event that is COVID-compliant.

While the exact details have not been announced yet, Davis has heard that there might be a way for the public to listen to the proceedings on their radios.

“With the Calgary members that are planning this funeral and they’ve been doing all this work this week to get ready for this – they’re in game mode, they’re ‘I need to do this so that, on the funeral day, it’s perfect.’ For them, the hard part is going to be Sunday or Monday or next week when that part of the job is over.”

Supporting police officers when one of their comrades is taken down is the duty of LPS Chaplain Aaron Moore and his Calgary counterparts.

Moore says he offers both supportive and spiritual help during times like these.

In the days since Harnett’s death, Moore has been reaching out to all members of the Lethbridge Police Service but says it is ultimately up to them to come to him.

So far, a few members have and have shared with him their feelings and their stories of Harnett.

“There’s this humbling and this reality where it’s like, this could’ve happened to me and there’s a sadness. This is a very tight family here in Lethbridge and across the world, police officers are, so when a brother or a sister or a colleague falls in the line of duty, this impacts them deeply.”

Another aspect of Moore’s work is to show his gratitude and support to all police officers and to thank them for what is often a thankless job.

He says encouragement and kind words from the community would certainly help at a time like this.

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