A Winnipeg toddler whose murder shook the city to its core is being honoured, posthumously, by Winnipeg police.
The family of Hunter Haze Straight Smith, 3, said his dream was to become a police officer when he grew up, so the Winnipeg Police Service is paying tribute by making the little boy a Special Constable.
Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth said he had the honour of signing off on a certificate on Thursday that granted Hunter honourary Constable status.
“I think it’s a way for us to treat Hunter and his family with some dignity.”
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“But this doesn’t bring peace to me or anyone else as far as that goes,” he added.
Ian Shanley wrote a letter asking Winnipeg Police to confer the status on Hunter. The letter quickly went viral on Winnipeg social media.
“It was something that was inside me that was crawling to get out,” said Shanley about writing the letter. “I could have just said it in words to someone and that would have been the end of it, but I had to have a physical copy of what I was thinking.”
Winnipeg Police attended a wake in honour of Hunter on Friday.