Provincial Constables Robert Maki (left) and Nicholas Kwong (right)

May 9-15, 2021 is National Police Week in Canada and USA. We are celebrating our OPP Association members in series of blog and social media posts. It is all too often that our members do great work.

Our members were the subjects of 34 nominations for Police Association of Ontario Police Hero Awards in 2021. One nomination was received that was ineligible due to the nominator not being a member of the community.

The PAO were kind enough to forward that nomination on to the OPP Association staff. We felt that this story was important to share during National Police Week. The nominator was Provincial Constable Robert Maki for his colleague Provincial Constable Nicholas Kwong. 

PC Maki credits PC Kwong with saving his life, and has since nominated his partner for a Bravery Decoration from the Government of Canada.

On April 9th, 2020, Provincial Constable Robert Maki and Provincial Constable Nicholas Kwong attended a 911 call regarding a disturbance at a residence in the City of Temiskaming Shores (New Liskeard) Ontario.
When the officers arrived on scene, they were given details of a possible break and enter in progress by the homeowner. The homeowner’s child was inside the residence with an armed suspect. PC Maki was confronted by the suspect armed with a gun. The situation developed rapidly with PC Kwong taking action to save the life of his partner. After a thorough investigation, it was determined that the officers involved were justified in their actions that day. Both of these officers put their lives at risk to protect the life of a young boy who was trapped in the house with the suspect.

There is no such thing as a routine call for our police members. At any time a situation can turn violent, and potentially deadly. Our members face tremendous stress during calls for service such as this, and often experience trauma for many years after such an incident. There are often many members affected by a traumatic incident who go unnamed and unknown and carry on doing their jobs with no fanfare. Our members are humble, and their stories don’t often make it into the mainstream media.

PC Maki stated: “I would like everyone to know that there was a lot of good work done by many people that day. Thank you to our supervisor who kept their composure, took charge of the scene, and looked after us. Thank you to the ERT (Emergency Response Team) member who helped us clear the house and provide first aid. Thank you to the officer who secured the scene outside, not knowing exactly was developing inside. Thank you to all of our neighbouring Kirkland Lake OPP Detachment members who came down to cover our calls that night.”

PC Maki has since become a peer support volunteer with the Healthy Workplace Team. He has volunteered to provide support in many other situations to his peers. He encourages anyone to reach out for assistance. Nobody is alone.

If you are an OPP member and wish to access peer support you can call 1-844-677-9409.

The Encompas Mental Health Wellness Program is available for eligible OPP Association members and their families 24/7 by calling 1-866-794-9117 or visiting online at EncompasCare.ca.