Knights of Columbus 45th Annual Police Appreciation Night

PETERBOROUGH, ON – On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, Peterborough Police Service and the Knights of Columbus Ernest J. Wolff Council 798 gathered to present awards to citizens who displayed courage and commitment to community along with officers who went above and beyond the call. 

This year was special as commendations were presented to citizens and officers for their assistance to police and work over the past three years.

Thank you to all who were recognized for your commitment to our communities of Peterborough, Lakefield and the Township of Cavan-Monaghan. 

Citizen Commendations:

Rob Reynolds
On November 7, 2019, at approximately 2:15 p.m. police received calls regarding a suicidal youth in the area of the Hunter Street bridge.

Rob Reynolds saw the youth begin to climb up on the ledge. Concerned that the youth was going to harm himself, Rob approached the youth and engaged him in a conversation. He was able to get the youth to come down and continued to speak with him while calling police with his cell phone.

According to nominating officer (Retired) Sergeant Sean Quinlan, the youth indicated that he was going through some tough times and had it not been for the intervention from Mr. Reynolds the outcome would have been much different.

Matt Cooper
Hunter Hoey
Justin Schaude
Molly Touzel
On September 28, 2019, the male victim became involved in a physical altercation with unknown persons. During the incident the victim was stabbed. 

Citizens were in the area at the time and provided medical attention to the victim and called 9-1-1.

According to the nominating officer, all four citizens went out of their way to help a complete stranger by providing medical assistance and calling police.

Kaylynn Delong
Nikki Casey
On November 19, 2019, at approximately 5:45 p.m. Kaylynn DeLong was working the drive-thru window at a Chemong Road fast food restaurant when she saw a male come to the drive-through window who appeared to be impaired by alcohol.

Ms. DeLong notified her manager, Nikki Casey regarding the impaired driver who also observed the male to be displaying the effects of alcohol impairment. Together a plan was formulated to have the male park in a waiting spot while his food was prepared. The Peterborough Police Service was then contacted, quickly attended, and the driver was taken into custody.

Jeff Lustig
On May 28, 2021, an officer was conducting a traffic stop in the parking lot of a local business. As the officer was attempting to arrest the driver on outstanding warrants, he refused to comply and started resisting arrest. Jeff noticed the situation and offered to assist by holding the suspect’s arm.  This helped the officer gain control of the suspect without injury to all involved.  

Chris Formosa
Amy Gosland
Britney Graham
Michelle Scheeters
On June 5^th, 2021 a motor vehicle collision occurred at the intersection of Parkhill Road West and George Street North. During this collision one of the vehicles involved ignited on fire.Chris and several staff (Britney, Amy, Michelle) from Pizza Hut jumped in to assist the trapped motorist by working together and extinguishing the fire before it spread throughout the car.  This act of heroism saved the life of the trapped motorist.  

Kelly Lahay
On August 15, 2021, Kelly saw a MyBeat alert about a missing 11-year-old boy and when she saw the youth in the area of the St. Peter’s Cemetery at Lansdowne Street and High Street, she immediately called police and watched the boy until police could arrive. 

Without her assistance the boy may not have been located as quickly and it’s believed her actions prevented any possible negative outcomes.  His family is beyond grateful and so is Peterborough Police Service. 

Leslie Cangas
On September 21, 2021, Leslie spotted a man walking on the side of a dark road in Selwyn Township.  Concerned for his safety, and then further realizing the person was the subject of a Peterborough Police Service MyBeat, Lesliecalled police and stayed with the man until officers could arrive. 

Officers involved believe her assistance prevented any possible negative outcomes.  His family is beyond grateful and so is the Peterborough Police Service. 

Francis Joseph Edwards
On February 24, 2022, Joe was driving a school bus with approximately 20 teenagers and 2 other adults northbound on County Rd 28 in Cavan Monaghan Township when he observed a car being rear-ended and pushed into the path of his bus. He quickly took evasive action by swerving to the right and avoiding a head-on collision.

Without a doubt his quick reaction prevented a catastrophic event.

Jake Hartjes
Mariah Hartjes
On Tuesday, April 18, 2021, Mariah and her brother Jake stopped to assist after a motor vehicle collision in the Stewart Line and Davis Road area in the Township of Cavan-Monaghan.  They assisted the driver who had had a heart attack by performing life-saving CPR until emergency crews arrived. 

As a result, the driver survived and has now returned to a full life. The doctors at Peterborough Regional Health Centre commented to the responding officer that the high quality of CPR had been instrumental in saving the driver’s life.  

Madison Sargent
On Tuesday, March 1, 2022, Madison saw a teenager walking along Sharpe Line in Cavan-Monaghan Township. She recognized that the teen seemed to be in some distress and out of concern for his wellbeing called 9-1-1 and kept an eye on him until officers were able to arrive.

She also brought him a warm drink for the ride to back his school to be reunited with family.  Madison’s actions made a difference and had she not called police the outcome could have been much different. 

Natalie Jennings
On Wednesday, June 22, 2022, Natalie and a small group of civilians witnessed two people in the Otonabee River just north of the lock system in Lakefield.  Natalie called 9-1-1 and started acquiring flotation devices and ropes to help the two people in the water.  In doing so she was able to get them to a point of safety until they could be extracted from the water by the Selwyn Fire Department.

Natalie’s selfless courage, quick response, and composure displayed in this situation was crucial to the safe rescue of the individuals from the water.

Kelli McNamara
Tim McNamara
On Tuesday, August 23, 2023, Kelli & Tim heard about a missing elderly male from their neighbourhood who had not been heard from since 8:00 am that morning.

Without hesitation, they biked around the neighbourhood on the lookout for this male, biking every trail, biking through parks, and checking every creek in efforts to locate the male who at this point had been missing for over 7 hours. Due to their persistence, they found him at the bottom of a large ravine in medical distress and suffering from stroke like symptoms. You quickly alerted nearby police officers and he was taken to hospital. Their actions contributed to saving the man’s life.

Star Hodge
Nichole Bartley
Timur Abdrakhmanov
In the Summer of 2022, Star, Nichole, and Timur provided life saving efforts in the form of CPR to a victim who had been significantly injured. Neither of the recipients personally knew the victim and went out of their way to help a stranger who had suffered an acute trauma.