Victoria police Const. Sonny Govus and three other officers jumped into action one day in April 2021 when they came across a man who had been stabbed and sprayed with mace.
The man ran bleeding into a Pandora Avenue pharmacy, knocking things off shelves as he struggled with the effects of the spray.
“We got there and we held his wound,” said Govus, who was with fellow constables Jeff Mason, Michael Cartwright and Matthew Cleaver. “It was quite a bad wound in his clavicle with a lot of blood. He turned out to be OK.”
Govus is among 24 Victoria police officers being honoured for their life-saving actions over the past few years by St. John Ambulance, a non-profit group that champions first-aid and CPR, and provides first-aid services at community events.
Stepping into an emergency situation is all part of the job for police officers, Govus said.
“When the big incidents come in, it’s a tough ask, but you go in and you do it and you work hard.”
Const. Tristan Williams and Cleaver were both at a 2020 incident where they helped a woman in the 900-block of Pandora who was in the throes of an overdose.
“People were flagging everybody down,” Williams said.
They assessed the woman and realized she wasn’t breathing properly, so they administered nasal naloxone — a medication that quickly reverses the effects of overdoses from opioids like heroin, methadone and fentanyl.
“It happened to work and bring her back while we were waiting for the ambulance to arrive,” Williams said.
Ambulance paramedics got to the scene and transported her to hospital, he said.
“Essentially they said because of our intervention, she was saved.”
The officers were recognized Friday at Victoria City Hall, and others will follow in another ceremony Monday.
E. David Hodgins, a member of St. John Ambulance’s parent organization, the Order of St. John, said recognition ceremonies are held periodically for police departments and other agencies that have groups of people who have saved lives in the line of duty.
“We liaise with the police and whenever they say we’ve got some people we’re ready to recognize, we put an event together.”
Victoria police Sgt. Brendon LeBlanc, who co-chairs the department’s recognition committee, said members of the force include a number of former paramedics who can make use of their skills from previous training.
“While we’re all first responders and our role is to save lives, police, fire and ambulance have very different expertise in those matters.”
Hodgins said it is “second nature” for police to act to save someone.
Here is a complete list of the honourees:
- Const. Ross Lauderdale
- D/Const. Braden Foster
- Const. Tristan Williams
- Const. Matthew Cleaver
- Const. Phil DiBattista
- Const Anastasiya Vasylyeva
- Sgt. Darrell Fairburn
- Const. Jennifer Gilroy
- Const. Jenna Carver
- Const. Sonny Govus
- Const. Michael Cartwright
- Const. Geoff Proverbs
- Const. Ralph Weber
- Const. Michael Seredick
- Sgt. Kari Cochrane
- Const. Michael Wishlaw
- Const. Marley Riordan
- Const. Chris Miller
- Const. Ryan Logan
- Const. Adam Meakes
- Const. Justin Charlton
- Const.. Ryan Marcellus
- Const. Jeff Mason
- Const. Danielle Little
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