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Names of two local officers will be added to fallen police memorial

Guelph Police Service Constable John Teevens had his name added to the Ontario Police Memorial this year, more than 75 years after his death in 1945. (Submitted/Guelph Police Service) Guelph Police Service Constable John Teevens had his name added to the Ontario Police Memorial this year, more than 75 years after his death in 1945. (Submitted/Guelph Police Service)
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A ceremony will be held at the Ontario Police Memorial in Toronto this Sunday to honour officers who died in the line of duty.

Among the names added this year are two local officers: Constable John Teevens of the Guelph Police Service, and Constable John Hickey of the Brantford Police Service.

Hickey passed away on June 29, 1897 at the age of 40. According to the Ontario Police Memorial Foundation, he was working on a Brantford trolley car when it derailed and struck a pole on July 18, 1895. Hickey suffered "very severe" injuries to his left knee and left wrist. The OPMF said he returned to work two months after the accident, but his injuries were determined to be permanent and he again took a leave of absence. Hickey died two years later. 

In a media release, Guelph police said Teevens was struck by a drunk driver on Upper Wyndham Street in December 1939 and "never fully" recovered from his injuries. He died on Jan. 27, 1945 at the age of 52.

Police said the circumstances around Teevens' death were forgotten until a few years ago when researchers where working on a book about the Guelph Police Service. His name was submitted by retired Sergeant Doug Pflug and Constable Matt Jotham, the then-president of the Guelph Police Association.

Teevens' name was read aloud at last year's Ceremony of Remembrance at Queen's Park in Toronto, but wasn't added to the memorial until recently.

Guelph police said Teevens is the fourth member of the force to have their name inscribed on the memorial. Others include: William Holloway, Walter Eric MacAulay and Jennifer Kovach.

Sunday's ceremony will be first one held in-person since 2019. It begins at 11 a.m. Sunday, and will also be live-streamed on the Ontario Police Memorial Foundation's social media pages.

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