Peel police officer killed in car crash hailed as hero

MISSISSAUGA - Thousands of uniformed officers and dignitaries marched into the Hershey Centre Tuesday morning to remember Const. Artem "James" Ochakovsky, a Peel Regional Police officer who died on duty earlier this month.

Ochakovsky was 36.

A wreath featuring Ochakovsky's badge number, 3382, sat at centre stage as thousands of officers took their seats in the packed hockey arena.

"During his short tenure here in Peel, James left a very . . . lasting impression on those he touched," Supt. Randy Patrick of Peel Regional Police said as the service began.

Patrick also conveyed his condolences to Commissioner Julian Fantino and the Ontario Provincial Police for the loss of another uniformed officer Monday. Const. Vu Pham, a 15-year veteran of the force, died as a result of injuries sustained in a shootout north of London, Ont.

"Officers like James aren't just good at what they do. What they do is good," said Premier Dalton McGuinty, who also paid tribute to Pham during the service.

"These men are heroes every day of their lives."

Ochakovsky's widow, Erin, took the stage with the couple's three-year-old son, Owen.

"James is the love of my life," she said. "I could not ask for more in a man. We saw passion in his eyes every time he looked at us."

Wearing suspenders and a tie, Owen inspected the podium as his mother continued reading her brief tribute.

"He was my hero, my Prince Charming, my everything," she said. "I miss you already. You were my life, you were my heart. I will see you again."

The assembled crowd offered its first round of applause as she left the stage, holding Owen by the hand.

On the night of March 1, Ochakovsky was on routine patrol when he responded to a request for help transporting a man. While en route, his police car crashed in Brampton. He died the following evening.

Ochakovsky is the first Peel Regional Police officer to die while on duty in 25 years.

He joined the force in August 2008 and worked with 21 Division, which serves Malton and Brampton