Alberta RCMP announced the details for the regimental funeral for Const. Harvinder (Harvey) Singh Dhami who was killed in a car accident while on duty in Strathcona County, northeast of Edmonton last week.
On April 10, Const. Dhami responded to an urgent request to help a fellow officer who was trying to make arrests, said Supt. Dale Kendall. The collision that ended his life happened on his way to back up his fellow officer.
“Cst. Dhami upheld his oath to protect and to serve to the very last moments of his life,” she said during a news conference Sunday.
The funeral and procession will take place Thursday April 20, at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park, Alta. The procession will begin from Bethel Lutheran Church at 10 a.m., with the regimental funeral starting at 11:30 a.m. at Millenium Place. The funeral is scheduled to last two hours. Members of the public are welcome to attend the funeral procession to pay their respects, police said.
“When tragedies like this happen, not just in Canada but in North America, it’s not just the family and friends that suffer a loss, but the communities, and in this case, the province of Alberta and the country also suffers a loss. And Canadians want to reach out and show their support in some way,” said Kevin Halwa, director for the prairie region of the National Police Federation and the chair of the National Police Federation Benevolent Foundation.
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The Foundation, whose sole purpose is to help families of fallen members “in their darkest days,” has set up a GoFundMe for Const. Dhami with all of the proceeds going to the Dhami family.
Halwa said this is the first time the Foundation has used the GoFundMe platform and weren’t sure what to expect, but they have already surpassed their $20,000 goal. The fundraiser will be up through May.
At a news conference Sunday, Kendall said spoke to Dhami’s character as a hard-working, devoted public servant. She said Dhami came from a family of community service workers. His cousin is also a police officer, and his sister is a health services worker.
Outside of his work as an officer, Dhami volunteered in his community from serving meals to the elderly to educating people on victim services supports.
He was part of the Elite Medical Emergency Response Team, which provides support in high-risk situations.
“True to his character, when a fellow officer called for backup in securing two arrests, Cst. Dhami responded immediately. What remains for all of us is the heartbreaking pain of his loss, but also the kind and sweet memory that you could count on Harvey for help,” Kendall said.
Dhami was the responding officer to a car crash on March 6, when Kulwinder Dhaliwal was rear-ended at a yield sign in Sherwood Park.
“He was really kind,” Dhaliwal said of Dhami. Dhaliwal, who had never met Dhami before, didn’t know what to do in an accident, but the constable helped him get to the police station and fill out the necessary paperwork. He even took the man to the hospital after he started feeling dizzy. He didn’t end up having a concussion, but wouldn’t have known to go to the hospital without Const. Dhami.
Dhaliwal said he was shocked to hear the news of Dhami’s death just one month after his own car accident.
“I shook hands with him,” he remembered of their interaction. “It’s so painful.”
— with files from Sarah Ryan, Global News
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