Saint John police recognize officers, citizens

More than 30 Saint John police officers, civilians and citizens were honoured Thursday for outstanding achievements.

The Saint John Police Force held its annual Awards and Recognition Ceremony at the Lily Lake Pavillion.

Among the citizens recognized were Tarryn Gallant and her mother, Brenda, who saved the life of a woman in distress on the Reversing Falls Bridge.

The two were driving across the bridge on Oct. 25, 2022, when they saw a woman on the other side of the railing.

After racing down to the end of the bridge to park their car, Brenda called 911 while Tarryn ran toward the woman.

“I just couldn’t help but think about how many people could have passed her without stopping,” said Tarryn. “People only started stopping once they saw that I was up there with her.”

There were two things going through Tarryn’s mind at the time: would she be able to make it to the woman, and what would happen if she went over the edge.

Tarryn said she began talking to the woman, and their conversation eventually turned to the woman’s family.

“She had mentioned that she had kids, and that was one of the things, I think, made her realize that she should come back forward,” she said. “It was when we had started talking about her children that she let me help her over.”

The mother and daughter received the Chief’s Commendation along with Dylan and Melissa Stark, who saved the life of an individual in a separate but similar incident on Reversing Falls Bridge on July 23, 2022.

Melissa had called 911 while Dylan talked to a man who was standing on the railing and holding on to a pole.

“The man said he would have jumped if Dylan had not intervened,” said Deputy Chief Honey Dwyer, who emceed the ceremony.

Meanwhile, eight police officers and two civilian employees were recognized with the Team Endeavour Award.

They included Sgt. Ron Cooper, Sgt. Stephen Davidson, Detective Const. Tony Gilbert, Const. Sherry Haines, Detective Const. Chris McCutcheon, Detective Sgt. Craig Ryan, Sgt. Tammy Spence, Detective Const. Duane Squires, Meaghan Bailey and Angela Totten.

The team led an undercover investigation which eventually led to a conviction in the July 2016 murder of Tammy Boratynec, whose body was found in the backyard of a home on Melrose Street in east Saint John.

Mark Carty was charged with second-degree murder in July 2021. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in July 2022.

“This was a really good team effort, one of the best I’ve ever been around in my policing career,” said Gilbert

Police Chief Robert Bruce said it makes him proud to recognize the work of not only his members but the citizens who stepped up without hesitation.

“I think in the days of social media, there’s a lot of people grabbing their cameras and taking pictures,” said Bruce. “The people that are really committed to their community and the safety and security and health of it step up and put themselves in harm’s way because they care.”

The full list of award winners can be found below.

City of Saint John – Local 486 Years of Service Recognition
Elizabeth Hill – 20 years
Colleen Naves – 20 years

Chief’s Certificate of Promotion
Les Drost – Detective Sergeant
Neal Fowler – Staff Sergeant

Chief’s Recognition of Retirement
Sergeant Ron Cooper
Sergeant Deborah Easton
Dan Forbes
Sergeant Mark Smith

Service Recognition Award
Sally Folkins
Jen Urquhart

Leadership Award
Detective Constable Tony Gilbert

Team Endeavour Award
Meaghan Bailey
Sergeant Ron Cooper
Sergeant Stephen Davidson
Detective Constable Tony Gilbert
Constable Sherry Haines
Detective Constable Chris McCutcheon
Detective Sergeant Craig Ryan
Sergeant Tammy Spence
Detective Constable Duane Squires
Angela Totten

Chief’s Certificate of Excellence
Tim Herd

Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (NB)
Detective Sergeant Les Drost
Lois Gorman
Constable Jeff Hamilton
Stephanie Hanlon
Lisa Mahaney
Detective Constable Chris McCutcheon
Sergeant Tammy Spence
Constable Tyler White

Chief’s Commendation
Constable Brent Haines
Constable Guillaume Lalonde
Detective Constable Lacey Johnson
Constable Caleb Settle

Chief’s Commendation – Citizen
Brenda Gallant
Tarryn Gallant
Dylan Stark
Melissa Stark