OPP dedicating bridge after fallen officer
Posted Apr 1, 2022 08:08:44 PM.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Commissioner Thomas Carrique hosted a bridge dedication ceremony on April 1 to honour a Beckwith police officer who lost his life in the line of duty.
The Cemetery Side Road overpass over Highway 7, east of Carleton Place, will be named after OPP Constable John A.C. Behan, who was born in Ottawa and died at the age of 21 in the line of duty in a vehicle collision while on patrol with his partner on April 14, 1956.
“Provincial Constable John A. C. Behan served and protected the people of Ontario,” said Carrique. “This bridge dedication is an acknowledgment to the many lives lost because of the sacrifices made by our police officers every day.”
Constable Behan joined the Royal Canadian Air Force when he was 19 and left to join the Royal Canadian Mounted Police before joining the OPP. At the time of his death, he was 21 years old and was survived by his parents, brother and sister.
“When people travel through Beckwith Township, they will now see a memorial in honour of the bravery and strength of Provincial Constable Behan,” said Solicitor General and MPP for Dufferin-Caledon Sylvia Jones. “This bridge dedication commemorates the service and commitment he demonstrated during his career as an OPP officer, and I hope it will be a place of comfort to all those who remember him.”
Memorial signs with the officer's name and police service crest have been posted on each side of the bridge in his honour.
