Bromont, Que. police officer and three others remembered at national memorial

OTTAWA – A cold rain was a fitting backdrop to the annual memorial service for police and peace officers who have died in the line of duty.

Thousands of police officers _ some from as far away as the United Kingdom _ stood in the mist on Sunday to remember their lost comrades for the 35th year.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews called police the “heroes” of our time who perform difficult, and sometimes dangerous work.

Jim Chu, president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, says all officers hope that no one will be added to the list of officers who have died on duty.

That wish did not come true this year.

The name of Constable Vincent Roy of the Bromont, Que. Police Service was etched in a glass panel that stands at the Memorial Pavilion in Ottawa.

Roy was struck and killed while handing out a ticket to a motorist during a routine traffic stop on December 1, 2011 about 100 kilometres east of Montreal.