An Antigonish native and RCMP officer who died while protecting others in April’s mass shooting in the province has received a national award posthumously from MADD Canada. Constable Heidi Stevenson is this year’s recipient of the Terry Ryan Memorial Award for Excellence in Police Services. It recognizes the significant contribution of police in helping to reduce impaired driving. The award is named in memory of Constable Terry Ryan who died in May,2002 when he was killed in a two-car alcohol -related crash on his way home from a police function in the Durham Region of Ontario.
In announcing the award, MADD Canada said Stevenson died as she tried to protect the public from a man who killed many others, volunteering to leave her area and face the danger in an attempt to locate and stop him. MADD Canada says Stevenson had a genuine passion for keeping her community and the public safe, and recognized how impaired driving enforcement contributed to that goal. Stevenson, a graduate of Dr. JH Gillis Regional High School, was a 23-year veteran of the RCMP.