People crowded into a community centre in a small Saskatchewan town to pay their respects to a Mountie who was killed last week in a crash with a moose.
Hundreds of police officers, firefighters and emergency personnel from across the country were in Nipawin on Wednesday to remember Const. Derek Pineo.
Mounties in full dress uniform paraded down the streets of the town while people watched from the sidewalks, some in tears, some saluting the officers as they went by.
Mourners filled an auditorium at the local community centre and screens were set up in the curling rink so that others could take in the service.
Pineo, a 38-year-old married father of three who was raised in Nova Scotia, was killed while responding to a call near Wilkie, Sask.
Pineo was based at the Wilkie RCMP detachment and had only recently been transferred from Nipawin.
One of his children wore a Mountie uniform to the service and eight members from his detachment acted as pallbearers.
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Speakers remembered Pineo as good officer and a family man who was closely involved with his community.
“He stood out right from the get-go, telling jokes,” said Kyle Smeltzer, who went through RCMP training with Pineo in 2007.
“Really, he was the glue for our troop. We were a small troop compared to some that go through. He really held us together, and when times were tough, really encouraged us to push on and be better people.”
Smeltzer called Pineo a “very genuine, caring man.”
“Definitely family orientated, always telling stories about his kids and wife, and funny, always putting a smile on your face and making you laugh.”
He said Pineo’s death was a shock to him and the rest of his training class.
“It does sting quite a bit … he’ll truly be missed as a friend on our side, absolutely.”
Russ Mirasty, RCMP assistant commissioner for F Division, called Pineo’s death “a tremendous loss.
“Any time you lose a member unexpectedly, it causes us to reflect on what we do, how we do it and that life is fragile, that in a second things can change.”
Mirasty said seeing the support for Pineo from the community was wonderful.
“They’ve stated clearly how he was able to come into Nipawin and become a part of the community very quickly.”
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