Tears, hugs and salutes as Abbotsford police, community mourn fallen officer

It has been an emotional 24 hours for Abbotsford police and Const. Ian MacDonald, public information officer for the department, is sharing a glimpse of how the community has come together to mourn a fallen police officer.

Const. John Davidson, 53, was killed in the line of duty on Monday after responding to reports that a stolen car had been seen  near the Fraser Valley Auto Mall.

There has been an outpouring of support for the Abbotsford Police Department, Davidson’s family and his colleagues.

Starting with a procession of police officers and first responders accompanying Davidson’s body as he was moved to Royal Columbian Hospital, to students remembering him as an inspiration, it seems everyone wants to pay their respects to Davidson, whether they knew him or not.

In a Twitter post, MacDonald says that on Tuesday alone, everyone needed a hug and everyone was giving hugs.

A mother also showed up at the Abbotsford police detachment with her three toddlers in tow, wanting to thank the officers for “protecting them” — resulting in tears for everyone.

A veteran came to see the growing memorial, honouring Davidson with a salute, also resulting in tears.

MacDonald says Davidson’s family stopped by the memorial as well to see the outpouring of love and support — resulting in more tears.

It seems many memories, stories and thoughts about Davidson were also shared, leaving many in tears.

“Thank you for the amazing and continued support,” writes MacDonald.

Davidson was a police officer for 24 years.

He began his law enforcement career in the United Kingdom working for the Northumbria police from 1993 to 2005.

On Wednesday morning, Northumbria police paid tribute to Davidson on its website.

Acting Chief Const. Winton Keenen, Northumbria police said:

“We were very saddened to learn of the death of our former colleague who died bravely in the line of duty while serving as an officer in Abbotsford, Canada.

“Our thoughts are very much with his family, friends and former colleagues at this difficult time.”

“Today many of our officers who knew John well during his career with us and kept in touch with him over the ensuing years are shocked by the events in Canada. We all want to express our sincere condolences to his family at this tragic news.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We were very saddened to learn of the death of our former colleague who died bravely in the line of duty while serving as an officer in Abbotsford, Canada.</p><p>"Our thoughts are very much with his family, friends and former colleagues at this difficult time."</p><p>"Today many of our officers who knew John well during his career with us and kept in touch with him over the ensuing years are shocked by the events in Canada. We all want to express our sincere condolences to his family at this tragic news."

A GoFundMe page set up to raise funds for Davidson’s family exceeded its $20,000 goal in just six hours on Wednesday.

Oscar Arfmann has been charged in connection with Davidson’s death.

His next court appearance is on Nov. 28.