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OPP Sergeant Patrick Armstrong is the Executive Director of the Dave Mounsey Memorial Fund. He joins OPP Association President Rob Stinson for this episode to talk about Dave Mounsey, the Fund’s work, and upcoming events.

For additional information on the Dave Mounsey Memorial Fund please visit DaveMounsey.com.

For additional information and registration for the “Run Around the Square Virtual 2022” please visit RunAroundTheSquare.ca.

For additional information or to support the “100K in a Day” event please visit 

To nominate someone for an “Order of the Good Samaritan” award please visit DaveMounsey.com/order-of-the-good-samaritan.

If you have any questions about this episode of the 10-5 Podcast, please email us at communications@oppa.ca.

Profile on OPP Sergeant Patrick Armstrong
Guest Blog Post by Retired OPP Detective Constable Brenda Orr

I first met Patrick Armstrong in 2002 when he was a new recruit with the OPP.  My life partner, Dave Mounsey, was assigned as Patrick’s coach officer.  Patrick started in policing with a wealth of experience in serving his country.  Patrick was in the army from 1992-1995 and then in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1997-2002.  While Patrick was in the Navy he did tours in Afghanistan, the Mediterranean, and the Arabian Gulf.  Dave and Patrick hit it off right away- Patrick says it is because of their military background but I think it was because they were both go getters with a desire to make the world a better place. 

For example, in 2003 Patrick started a business called Heritage Medal Services; a business dedicated to the proper mounting, wearing and presenting of all Commonwealth honours and their correct family history. Patrick believes that Canadians need to be aware of their heritage and the sacrifices that were made by our Commonwealth members who have served this country. Patrick continues to research and return lost medals to families and assists Canadian Heroes in Operation Lost Medals by cleaning and remounting medals free of charge. Patrick located and purchased medals through the Internet that he returned to 19 families including one Police Exemplary Service Medal.  Patrick recently cleaned and mounted 25 World War 1 Medals and returned them to Canadian Heroes in Operation Lost Medals. 

 In October 2006 Dave Mounsey was involved in an on-duty car crash that eventually claimed his life a month later. Patrick was the first officer on scene and continued to support me and my children through our devastating loss. After Dave’s death Patrick founded the Dave Mounsey Memorial Fund (DMMF) which is a non-profit organization that honours police, fire, paramedics and military members killed in the line of duty by donating defibrillators in their names.

The DMMF was founded in 2009 and to date has donated 130 defibrillators that have saved 3 lives. Patrick is the Executive Director who has worked tirelessly over the last 12 years to raise the money to be able to purchase the defibrillators. And because Patrick believed that the DMMF could do more than donate defibrillators and honour our fallen heroes, Patrick decided that the DMMF should give out yearly Order of the Good Samaritan awards to the community.

Each year the DMMF gives out the following awards: the Paul Patterson Memorial Award for Lifesaving, the Bruce Crew Memorial Award for Sportsmanship, the Vu Pham Memorial Youth Volunteer award, and the Corporal Matthew Dinning Memorial award for Volunteer for Veterans and Service Persons.

The DMMF has a separate branch called the Breaking the Silence Donation Program that donates a defibrillator to fallen heroes who have died by suicide as a result of suffering from PTSD.

Patrick is now a well-respected road Sergeant in Perth County. Even though Patrick dedicates so many hours to the DMMF, Patrick saw a need to do more. In 2018 Patrick co-founded the Huron and Area Search and Rescue (HASAR). HASAR is a not-for-profit organization that provides professional civilian volunteers to conduct ground-based and marine search and rescue. Patrick was instrumental in securing funding to train and equip 65 volunteers. This was an enormous task but Patrick was able to successfully get donations for uniforms for all the volunteers, a fully equipped and functional mobile command centre, a single axle modified gear trailer with a generator, a rescue Argo all-terrain vehicle with a stretcher, radio and winch, and a 22 ft Grew rescue boat with radio, lights, chart plotter and radar.

The HASAR has been very successful in searching. In May 2019 HASAR volunteers went to Ottawa to assist with emergency status flooding. HASAR also has outreach to the community through the AdventureSmart program. AdventureSmart teaches Hug-a-Tree, Paddlesmart and Survive Outside to name a few of the programs. So far over 600 children and 100 adults have been trained through HASAR. Patrick is the Deputy Commander of the Marine section of HASAR.  HASAR will soon be qualified in Ropes and Ice Water Rescue.

Patrick was also was on the Board of Directors for St. John’s Ambulance from 2011-2013. Since 2018 Patrick has been and still is a civilian instructor with the Maitland Air Cadet Association 532 Squadron.
Maybe Patrick’s love of medals comes from the fact that he has received so many throughout his diversified career. 

Patrick has received service medals in the military, 2 life-saving citations in the OPP, a minister of Veteran’s Affairs Commendation, an Accolade Award, a YMCA Peace Medal, an Inter-Cultural Dialogue Institute Officer of the Year Award, a Huron County Citizen of the Year Award, a Huron County Officer of the Year Award, and 2 medals for his charity work: the Diamond Jubilee and Sovereigns Medal for Volunteers.

The motto that Patrick chose for the Dave Mounsey Memorial Fund is a quote by Stephen Grellet that reads “I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any other human being, let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” I think this quote accurately describes how Patrick Armstrong lives his life.

Patrick is a great officer, a wonderful person, a patriotic Canadian and a dear friend.  I can’t wait to see what he accomplishes next in his career! 

Retired OPP
D/C Brenda Orr