Const. Andrew Hong

Recently I have been doing some binge watching of a TV show called "Crime Beat". It is a Canadian show that features stories of past crimes in our country. I have yet to see an episode on a tragic event that occurred on September 12, 2022, and involved the murder of a Toronto Police officer. My interest comes from the fact that for many years I was a Chaplain with Toronto Police Service, meaning I got close to many officers over the years. This story is about the day when a cop was killed simply for wearing a police uniform.

I would be involved in the aftermath simply because I made myself available, something I had learned to do a few years earlier during the Yonge Street van attack that killed 11 people. No police were killed on that day but the dead and injured bodies on those sidewalks affected many First Responders for years to come. Having one of your own killed, is a whole different level of trauma.

I apologize in advance because much of what I write here involves my personal experience. It began mid-afternoon when I happened to be online and saw a news report that a TPS officer had been shot and killed in Mississauga at a Tim Hortons coffee shop. We were also told that this officer was a member of the Motor Squad in Traffic Services. I had just recently been assigned to Traffic Services as one of their Chaplains, aside from my other assignments at 14 and 11 Divisions.

The officer who had invited us to serve at Traffic Services was an officer named Simon (no sir names) so I quickly phoned him to see if he had heard. As he answered my call, I immediately heard his wife in the background say, "I don't believe it". That is because he was writing a text to me at that very moment, to find out if I knew. The other reason he was phoning, was to ask if I wanted to head to the scene in Mississauga. Since I lived a bit closer than him, his wife dropped Simon off at our home and we drove to the scene together. On the way, I suggested that I should phone my supervisor in TPS Wellness, to let him know that a TPS Chaplain was going. He immediately said I could not go without approval at what point Simon grabbed my phone and gave his badge number. We were cleared to go.

The funny thing was that I had put on my full TPS police uniform and Simon put on his Billy Graham Rapid Response Team shirt. As we arrived, trying to find the Tim Hortons, officers directed us away from the scene and they had us park two parking areas away. As we began the long walk, we were seen by a Sergeant for Peel Regional Police, who happened to be guarding the entrance to the other parking lot we were passing. He advised us that someone had also been shot there and the individual's car had been stolen by the shooter. (Turned out to be the same person who had killed PC Hong).

                                                                                                           

The Sergeant then offered to drive us to the crime scene which meant we had the yellow tape lifted for us to enter right past all the security. Things became very real, very quickly.

Officers, including many senior officers from both Peel and Toronto were already present. I noticed a familiar face walking toward me. Joe was a Sergeant who had taken me out for ride-alongs numerous times over the years. We hugged and he immediately told me we could talk later because he was in charge of security for the crime scene. He had just recently been transferred to Traffic Services from 14 Division. As I stood on the east side of the Tim Hortons, Andrew's body was visible through the window. It was something I would never forget. I suddenly realized his colleagues were also looking in so I stood in front of them (with my big body) and encouraged them not to look. Fortunately they all heeded my words.

All these TPS officers had joined Andrew in Mississauga as part of a training day for Motor Squad officers from around the GTA. Andrew, who was a trainer, had gone to the Tim Hortons to pick up coffees. The only reason he was shot in the back of the head was because he was wearing a police uniform. When I heard that, it startled me, because it could just as easily have been someone like me, who is not a cop but looks like one when he wears his uniform. The shooter had apparently waited in his car for over 2 hours, waiting for a cop to walk in.

Then TPS brought a bus to the location, to allow their officers to have a place to sit. Simon and I went into the bus in case someone needed to talk with someone but most were numb from what had happened. Then I saw another former sergeant from 14 Division, who I had numerous "interesting" ride-alongs with. Scott was now also with Traffic. He would later invite me to travel down to the Coroner's office when a procession took Andrew to downtown Toronto. Scott would be the lead car.

About two hours after the shooting, Forensics finally arrived in their white suits and thankfully pulled the blinds down so Andrew was no longer visible. The Deputy Chief for Peel stopped to say hi to me and when I gave him my name, he asked the nationality from where the name originated. When I told him Estonia, he smirked and said his wife was Estonian. I should mention, the Deputy is a Black man, so it was not an expected response.

After chats with various officers, I was introduced to the Deputy Chief of Mississauga Fire and his service dog Ajax. He was there for very much the same reason Simon and I were there but I think he also realized I could use a bit of love from Ajax.

                                                                                                                       

As this was all going on, some of the officers were hearing on their police radios, that the shooter had driven out to Halton Region and killed and injured other people but was now driving on highway 407, followed closely by OPP and Halton Regional Police. This of course caught the interest of us all. A few minutes later we were hearing reports that the shooter had been cornered in a Hamilton cemetery and killed in a gun fight.     

In the photo above to the left, you can see OPP officers organizing the processional to the Coroner that was going to take place within the next hour. That meant Andrew's body was about to be removed from the Tim Hortons and the motorcycles and vehicles were starting to line up.

                                                                                                              

                                                

Next Day:

I was invited to attend Traffic Services the next morning. As a Chaplain you simply need to be available should someone like some counsel or express their feelings. While there, Premier Doug Ford came and spoke to the members in their front lobby, with media not allowed inside. It was a heartfelt show of support.

     

                                           

Funeral on September 21, 2022

On the day of the funeral I was privileged to walk along side Traffic Service members and then sit with them during the memorial service at Toronto Congress Centre. Approximately 8000 officers from numerous police services across North America attended. Traffic Service was the lead group in the procession and I am walking in the grouping of three to the left.