On Friday the 4th of May 2018, the Ontario Women in Law Enforcement (OWLE) held their Provincial Gala to honour women in law enforcement and to give recognition to their annual award recipients in Mississauga, Ontario. Women in law enforcement from all across Ontario, from Canadian Police Forces, and from International agencies attend the prestigious gala.
One of our own, Constable Jen McMurter, was selected by the Provincial OWLE Honours and Awards Board to receive this year’s Award for Valor. This is the highest honour awarded at the Ontario Women in Law Enforcement annual banquet and is awarded to a police officer who distinguishes herself by an act of extraordinary selflessness, personal bravery, courage or self-sacrifice.
Constable Jennifer McMurter was honoured for her courageous and brave actions in a call for service on the evening of January 8, 2016. At 8:25 p.m., Belleville Police platoon officers received a call that there were shots fired and people shot, with a shooter that might still be inside a residence in the city’s east end.
Upon arrival, one by one, officers formed a very hasty immediate rapid deployment thinking that an active shooter was either still inside the residence or waiting to ambush them near the house. Three brave officers, including Constable McMurter, entered the house without regard for their safety. All three officers went in different directions to save lives, engage a gunman and prevent further death or injury. Constable McMurter was the first to reach the children and two adults on the second floor where she immediately began administering lifesaving first aid trying to stop blood from a gunshot wound.
All of the officers including Constable Jennifer McMurter chose to place themselves in peril, in situations where they were all alone and exposed to being shot and killed but still bravely went in and forward to confront this extremely dangerous situation without wasting one second of time.
The gunshot victim would have died if the officers did not enter that house with the speed and courage they did. They saved a man’s life by placing themselves in a situation of extreme peril as he would have easily bled out in a few more moments.
Also receiving recognition at the awards ceremony for honorable long service and professional conduct were Donna McMechan with 35 years of service, and both Denise Lynch and Nadine Langlois for 30 years of service.
The Belleville Police Service is extremely proud of the recipients and all their women and men in law enforcement.
