By Police1 Staff
TORONTO — Under certain conditions, Toronto officers who die by suicide can be included on the on-duty death police memorial wall.
The Record reported that the change is the result of a settlement with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. The commission filed a case stating that excluding names of those who died as a result of mental health issues experienced on duty was discriminatory.
The case was made on behalf Sgt. Eddie Adamson who took his own life in 2005. Four years after his suicide, the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board ruled Adamson’s death a result of post-traumatic stress disorder, classifying it as an on-duty death, CP24 reported.
“We hope this signals to officers that if they are suffering, they can and should get help and that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be worthy of honour and respect as an officer,” Renu Mandhane, chief commissioner with the Ontario Human Rights Commission, told The Record.
The Toronto Police Service said it’s in the final stages of putting criteria in place for applications.
“Today’s agreement creates an opportunity for the service to respectfully recognize those who have died, regardless of cause of death, by appropriately commemorating those who, through their actions, demonstrated the noble qualities of policing and inspired those who continue to serve,” the Toronto Police Service said in a press release.