Vancouver police attending funeral of 2 Edmonton police officers

Blue ribbons line the procession route for Monday’s regimental funeral for two Edmonton Police Service (EPS) officers killed in the line of duty, while their families are thanking the community for an “overwhelming outpouring of support.”

Those blue ribbons started showing up on trees, fences, and poles in the days after the deaths of Const. Travis Jordan and Const. Brett Ryan, along with memorials laid outside the city’s West Division police station, many written by school children.

The two constables’ families have released statements thanking the public for all the support they’ve received.

Ryan’s loved ones said they did not have words to explain the process of grieving “the sudden loss of a beloved member of our family.”

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“Brett was a husband, a son, a brother, an uncle, and a father-to-be,” they wrote. “He was a multi-talented individual, dedicated friend, respected colleague, active community member and volunteer, and compassionate first responder whose calling was to help those in need.

“His absence is profound, and we, along with his brothers and sisters in blue, will miss him.”

Jordan’s family called his passing an “unspeakable loss.”

“We are beyond words as we continue to grieve this unspeakable loss,” they wrote. “Travis’ sense of adventure was boundless and led him to a life well-lived. He was a son, a husband, a brother, and a loyal friend.

“He was passionate about giving back to his communities, and his willingness to help was limitless – all the makings of a great police officer and an even greater human being. This loss has cast an enormous void in our lives, and we, along with his EPS brothers and sisters, will miss him fiercely.”

The funeral procession for the officers begins at 11:30 a.m. local time, departing the Alberta Legislative Building for Rogers Place where the regimental funeral will take place.

Officers from the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) will be among the first responders attending the service today.

“This was an extremely tragic event. Our thoughts are with EPS and especially with those who knew and loved Constables Jordan and Ryan. We will have some members from Vancouver Police attend to pay our respects to the fallen officers and their families,” reads a tweet from the VPD.

Tribute song written by colleague to be played

“I knew Travis really well, went to recruit training with Travis. And Brett I worked with quite a bit here in West Division, and the three of us would meet up at the calls quite often,” said EPS Constable David Pedersen, who wrote a song memorializing his colleagues.

“Naturally we’re just paralyzed with grief, and I think all that we can do to remind ourselves of the life they lived and the sacrifice they gave and what incredibly good people they were,” he told CityNews.

“Yeah, the song, you know, it’s a response to just there’s so much pain involved with dealing with the death of these guys, these friends and it’s just a desire to have something positive. And their memory is positive. They were incredibly good people.”

Pedersen describes constables Ryan and Jordan as patient and caring officers who treated everyone fairly.

“I think the message that I would want people to know is, no matter what role we have, whether it’s teacher or nurse, police officer, a clerk at a store, we’re all humans. We all come with our challenges. And we’re doing the best that we can and these were just incredibly good people behind the uniform.”

Constables Brett Ryan and Travis Jordan were shot to death on March 16th during a domestic call. The sixteen-year-old suspect then killed himself.

–With files from Sonia Aslam and CityNews Edmonton