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DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, May 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Several Nova Scotia police officers are being recognized for their incredible work to take impaired drivers off the roads at MADD Canada’s inaugural Constable Heidi Stevenson’s Watch Award ceremony, being held today at Nova Scotia RCMP Headquarters in Dartmouth.
Under the new awards program, the Top Performer Award is presented to the officer who removed the most impaired drivers from the roads in 2022. Gold Coin Awards are presented to officers who removed 24 or more impaired drivers. Silver Coin Awards are presented to officers who removed 15 to 23 impaired drivers. Several more officers are Bronze recipients, for taking between 6 and 14 impaired drivers off the roads, and they will be recognized with a special Certificate of Appreciation at their local detachments.
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“MADD Canada is very pleased to have this opportunity to honour Heidi and to thank all of these officers for the amazing work they do to make Nova Scotia roads safer,” said MADD Canada National President Jaymie-Lyne Hancock. “Every impaired driver they take off the road represents a potential crash averted. It represents a possible death or injury prevented. It represents an individual and a family that has been spared potential heartbreak, pain and grief.”
The award ceremony is being hosted today during National Police Week, May 14-20 in recognition of all police officers, and just after Mother’s Day to recognize Heidi’s most important role as a mother. Joining MADD Canada for the award ceremony are: A/Commr. Dennis Daley, Commanding Officer, Nova Scotia RCMP; Chief Mark Kane of the Nova Scotia Chiefs of Police Association; and Inspector Don Moser, Committee Co-Chair.
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The award program is named in honour of Cst. Heidi Stevenson, who was a 23-year veteran of the RCMP. Cst. Stevenson loved her chosen career, and spent most of it in Nova Scotia. She held many different roles throughout her career, including as a dedicated Drug Recognition Expert. Cst. Stevenson was especially proud of her expertise in that area and was deeply commitment to helping make Nova Scotia’s roadways safer. Cst. Stevenson was one of the 22 people killed by a gunman in April 2020 in Nova Scotia. She was posthumously awarded MADD Canada’s Terry Ryan Memorial Award for Excellence in Police Service in honour of her work to prevent impaired driving.
“Heidi’s passion for impaired driving enforcement inspired others and made Nova Scotia’s roadways safer. This award and the partnerships that made it happen honour Heidi’s legacy and recognize fellow Nova Scotian officers who share this same passion,” said A/Commr. Dennis Daley, Commanding Officer, Nova Scotia RCMP.
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Each year, in Cst. Stevenson’s name, MADD Canada will recognize members of police services across Nova Scotia who remove impaired drivers from roads and highways, thus preventing crashes, deaths and injuries. Going forward, the annual awards ceremony will be hosted by police services around the province.
“These awards are a collaborative effort by MADD Canada, the Nova Scotia Police Chiefs of Police Association, the Nova Scotia Department of Justice and the Nova Scotia RCMP, and we are so grateful for their partnership,” Ms. Hancock said. “We are especially grateful to Cst. Stevenson’s family for allowing us to present these awards in her name.”
Constable Heidi Stevenson’s Watch Award Recipients
Top Performer
Cst. Scott Aldridge, RCMP
Gold Award
Cst. Tyler Baird, RCMP
Cst. Liam Campbell, HRP
Cst. Kristopher Hansen, HRP
Cst. Bryan Martell, RCMP
Cst. Troy Redden, RCMP
Silver Award
Cst. Angela Banfield, RCMP
Cst. Adrian Cox, RCMP
Cst. Nicholas Dorrington, RCMP
Cst. Christopher Graham, RCMP
Cst. Robert Kavanaugh, RCMP
Cst. Patrick McNeil, RCMP
Cst. John-Paul Renaud, RCMP
Cst. Tyler Shipley, New Glasgow
Cst. Andrew Waters, Kentville
