EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada (CP) -- Police from every province and territory are expected to attend the funeral Friday of a veteran Alberta RCMP officer killed in the line of duty.
Cpl. Jim Galloway, 55, will be accorded full regimental honours, said RCMP spokesman Cpl. Wayne Oakes.
Galloway, a veteran dog handler and member of an RCMP emergency response team, died during a standoff with an armed man last Saturday in the town of Spruce Grove, just west of Edmonton.
Gunfire erupted when the armed man tried to leave his home, RCMP say. Galloway was hit by a single bullet in the back. The suspect, 41-year-old Martin Ostopovich, was also killed.
Alberta Justice Minister Dave Hancock and Solicitor General Heather Forsyth will join officers from the RCMP and other police services at the service. Dozens of police dog handlers from across the country are expected to attend. They will play a special role at the funeral, said Oakes.
“The (Galloway) family has put out a request that wherever possible, the dog handlers who will be attending, if they could bring their canine partners with them.
“They will form an integral part of the honour guard tomorrow with the funeral procession that will be taking place.”
Galloway’s dog Cito -- who was at his side when he was shot -- will be allowed in the church in the bedroom community of Sherwood Park near Edmonton, where Galloway was stationed.
Galloway, who headed the Alberta RCMP dog section in Edmonton, had been a dog handler since 1975.
He helped organize and manage an RCMP civilian search dog service for Alberta and also belonged to a northern Alberta wilderness search and rescue group.
He and several other members of the emergency response team were trying to arrest the armed man when the gunfire erupted.
A family member said Ostopovich had been tormented by schizophrenia. He reportedly was not taking his medication at the time of the standoff.