The St. Albert RCMP detachment is in mourning after learning that one of its former officers was killed while working at a new posting in Quebec.
Const. Vincent “Vinnie” Roy was killed Thursday afternoon in Quebec. The 37-year-old officer worked in St. Albert up until July, when he transferred to Quebec and the small Bromont municipal police force.
St. Albert was his first posting as an RCMP member and he had been at the detachment for 14 months prior to moving to Quebec.
Roy was respected and liked amongst his colleagues in St. Albert, said spokesperson Const. Janice Schoepp.
“He was very well liked. He was very dedicated and a great guy,” she said.
Even though Roy had moved, local members still feel like he was very much one of their own.
“He has been gone only a few months from here and it has been quite a shock,” Schoepp said.
While he was at the detachment, Roy worked as a general duty officer, so many members of the public probably had dealings with him, Schoepp said.
Just prior to his fatal incident, Roy had finished conducting a traffic stop and was walking back to his vehicle when a cube van clipped his police car and then collided with him.
He was working on a two-lane highway near Adamsville, Que., which is about 80 kilometres southeast of Montreal.
Bromont was Roy’s hometown. He moved back to be closer to family. The city’s small police force has only 20 members and units from the provincial SûretĂ© du QuĂ©bec have taken over policing duties to give the local police a chance to deal with the shock.
Roy died at the scene and police interviewed both the truck driver and another witness at the scene. They have ruled out the possibility of both alcohol and speed as possible factors, but have not determined a cause or laid any charges.
Schoepp said members from the detachment are still waiting to hear about funeral arrangements, but they do plan to have a contingent of local officers attend.
Roy leaves behind a wife and two children, a 10-year-old son and an eight-year-old daughter.
