Touching moments in the B.C. Legislature to honour fallen Mountie
Posted October 20, 2022 7:49 am.
Last Updated October 20, 2022 9:37 am.
As a memorial at Broadview Park is growing for a member of Burnaby RCMP who was killed in the line of duty on Tuesday, politicians of all stripes took a moment to honour the life of the Mountie on Wednesday in the B.C. Legislature.
Newly minted Liberal MLA Elenore Sturko was tasked with delivering condolences on behalf of the official opposition. Before moving to politics earlier this year, Sturko was a long-serving member of the RCMP, serving most recently in Surrey.
Sturko’s voice shook, as she was overcome with emotion when she spoke about what a hero 31-year-old Shaelyn (Tzu-Hsin) Yang was, but that she was also a loving wife, sister, daughter, friend, and colleague.
“I know that when a police officer decides to don their uniform and take on the responsibility of protecting the public, they do not bear this responsibility alone. Their families also carry the weight of that decision [and] the weight of that decision is often measured in fear, fear that their loved one will not come home,” she told the legislature.
Yang was a member of Burnaby RCMP’s mental health and homeless outreach team.
“Making connections with some of the most vulnerable people in the community, her duties not only included responding to calls for service, but she also built relationships with people on the street. She provided outreach and she helped connect people with health care, addiction services, and housing,” said Sturko. “And right now, in our province, in the face of drug toxicity crisis, and with many people unhoused and living on the street with mental health issues, this is some of the most important work being done.”
Related Articles:
-
Murder charge laid in killing of Burnaby Mountie
-
Burnaby Mountie remembered after dying in the line of duty
-
Burnaby RCMP officer killed on the job
She talked about Yang’s passion and compassion for her work, the community, and all the lives she touched.
“Police officers courageously serve across our province each day. Their duty is wrought with risk and danger, and they’ve earned the title of being called heroic. But while we recognize that Const. Yang was a hero in life, we must never forget that she was a person.
“She had a husband, friends, dreams, hopes, and love beyond her service for the community and at only 31 years old, she had a lot more to give. When we acknowledge that she was a regular woman who made an extraordinary sacrifice, we truly appreciate the depth of her commitment to making our province a better place,” Sturko said.
Related Video:
CityNews went to Broadview Park, where Yang was stabbed Tuesday and spoke to people in and around that area. One woman who lives nearby told us she was home when the violence broke out. She was stunned Yang was killed.
“You know, when I’m sitting in my living room thinking about it, that it happened so close, that’s a sad part too.”
One man says his wife was in the park when it happened.
Thank you to those reaching out to express your sympathies after the loss of Cst. Shaelyn Yang.
Email condolences can be sent to: RCMP.Condolences-Condoleances.GRC@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Books of condolences can be signed at Burnaby RCMP’s main detachment and community police offices. pic.twitter.com/ACjdL11HGo
— Burnaby RCMP (@BurnabyRCMP) October 20, 2022
“She was at the playground on the other side of the tennis court with our kid, talking to some lady on the bench and they heard arguing and then, ‘Pop, pop,’ is what she said she heard. I was [at] work and she was telling me what happened and I’m like, ‘Hang up and call 911.'”
He adds by the time his wife made the call, members had already arrived on scene.
Yang became a Mountie in 2019. She had been called on Tuesday morning to help bylaw officers deal with a man in a tent at Broadview Park. She was stabbed during an altercation and died shortly after.
The suspect, 37-year-old Jongwon Ham, has been charged with first-degree murder and after making his first court appearance on Wednesday, is due back in court on Nov. 2.
A donation fund has been set up by Yang’s friends and family members, on GoFundMe, which will financially support her family during their grieving. As of Thursday morning, the fund had raised just over $21,000.
–With files from Kier Junos
