Greater Sudbury Police is paying their respects today to two Nickel City police officers who were killed in the line of duty 71 years ago today.
On June 18, 1949, Const. Gerry Dault and Const. Edward Terrell were dispatched after police received a report of a domestic disturbance complaint. Terrell was shot and killed as he approached the house. Dault secured the area, making sure the public was safe, before he was fatally shot, as well.
The culprit, Clarence Brosseau, whose wife and children had fled the apartment, was found dead when police rushed into the building after using tear gas.
Edward Terrell was just 28-years-old when he was shot and killed. Gerry Dault was only 32.
Both Dault and Terrell are members of the GSPS Honour Roll which pays tribute to officers who were killed in the line of duty.
Back in 2013, the men’s sacrifice was honoured as twin bridges across the Wanapitei River along Highway 69 were renamed in the officers’ honour.
Madeleine Belkosky and Karen Boudreau were at Tom Davies Square that day seven years ago for the special ceremony. They were too young to remember their father, Gerry Dault. They do remember everyone working very hard to give them a normal upbringing and give them an idea of what sort of person Dault was.
They heard stories about what a great sense of humour he had, and that he was a hero not only as a policeman, but for the years he spent fighting for Canada in the Second World War.
“And he was able to come home safely to us (after serving) 68 months,” Belkosky said. “And then he died a few years later in an ambush in his own hometown.
“We are proud to be honouring our father.”
Boudreau said it’s fitting both men are being honoured at the same time.
They heard about bridges being named after officers killed in the line of duty.
“This has touched us very deeply,” Boudrea said.
“They died together and they’re being honoured together,” Belkosky added.
Also on hand for the ceremony was Bill Terrell, the son of Const. Terrell. He said growing up without his guitar-playing father was a hardship he was always keenly aware of.
“I never got to play guitar with my dad, or do all those things I’ve been able to do with my children,” he said. “My life changed forever on that day.”
And although he grew up without his dad, his family and friends helped keep his memory alive. He was told his father died doing what he loved to do – being a police officer and protecting the public.
“I can never express how proud I am to be here today,” Terrell said. “Thank you very much. I’m very proud.”
The bill that sees highway bridges renamed to honour officers slain in the line of duty couldn’t have been passed without the efforts of former Sudbury MPP and cabinet minister Rick Bartolucci.
He introduced the Ontario Highway Memorials for Fallen Police Officers Act, which was passed in 2002. The act allows bridges or structures on the Kings’ Highway to be named in the memory of police officers who died in the line of duty.
Bartolucci also remembers the fateful day Dault and Terrell died. Just five years old at the time, Bartolucci shared his recollections during the 2013 naming ceremony.
On that June day in 1949, Bartolucci was a young boy living in Gatchell. He remembers getting on the streetcar with his family for a trip downtown. He remembers that suddenly, everyone had to exit the streetcar at Byng and Ontario streets and take cover.
Greater Sudbury Police sent a tweet out today to honour the men’s sacrifice for their community.
“We will never forget our Fallen Heroes. On this day (June 18th), in 1949, Cst. Gerry Dault and Cst. Edward Terrell were shot and killed while responding to a domestic call. We will never forget them. We honour them today and always. #HeroesInLife.
