Anniversary of Burnaby Mountie’s death ‘opportunity to celebrate her legacy’: RCMP
Posted October 19, 2023 6:56 am.
Mounties in Burnaby say the death of Const. Shaelyn (Tzu-Hsin) Yang a year ago still weighs heavy on colleagues and friends of the young police officer.
Chief Supt. Graham de la Gorgendiere, officer in charge of the Burnaby RCMP, says the one-year anniversary of Yang’s death is a painful memory, but an opportunity to celebrate her legacy.
He says Yang was an outstanding police officer who did important work with marginalized people, and her death represents a dark moment that set off a wave of mourning and public support.
Yang was fatally stabbed during an altercation on Oct. 18, 2022, when she was helping city workers evict a homeless man living in a tent in a Burnaby park.
Yang started her policing career working as a volunteer part-time with the Richmond RCMP’s Victim Services before becoming an officer in 2019. After joining the Burnaby detachment, she started working with the RCMP’s Police Mental Health and Homeless Outreach Team, according to de la Gorgendiere.
“She was compassionate and caring and she brought those skills every day to her job, working with our community’s most vulnerable, including those experiencing homelessness and mental health issues,” said de la Gorgendiere last year.
Jongwon Ham was charged with first-degree murder one day after Yang’s death. Ham’s trial is still ongoing.
