By Jim Mauro
Thunder Bay – I am unlikely to make many friends in the policing world with this article, and I stopped caring long ago about the opinions of management or those of union leadership. But it will not stop me from recognizing the work many of them do, work that is often taken for granted and should never be.
We have been fed a narrative about this city’s police service that should be unacceptable, yet those in a position to challenge it, largely remain silent. The things said about this police service and city are repeated ad nauseum, with little pushback on behalf of one of the most generous communities in the country.
There are several different sources so rankings can vary, but one example is the GoFundMe rankings for major metropolitan areas. Ranked by the highest percentage of unique donors per capita, Thunder Bay ranked eighth in the country.
The police service, like any organization, has people who are racist. What is absurd is the suggestion that racism is limited to only one race or culture. I accept that mistakes have been made by police. They are human beings; it is inevitable. But I disagree that those mistakes are generally rooted in racism.
I publicly asked this question years ago regarding the young girl who was slapped on an ambulance gurney after spitting in the face of an officer. Was the officer racist when she saved the young girl from a sexual assault, when she cared for her while she was vomiting, when she ensured she received medical attention, or when she reacted according to her training after being spit on?
No one side is always right in their allegations. Do you want officers conducting investigations where only the complainant is spoken to? This is not “tone deaf” to the hardships experienced by many First Nations people. Quite the contrary. Their treatment for far too long is something everyone in Canada should own, including some of their own leaders. I believe that should be part of any discussion.
But this article is about heroism.
“Based on my review of publicly available information, I was only able to identify four people in Canada who have received the Governor General’s Award for Bravery twice in hazardous circumstances.”
Constable James Adamson, (Metro Toronto Police)
Master Seaman Charles Stanley Winsor, M.B.
Sgt. Dale Kurdziel, (Canadian Armed Forces)
Constable James Arthur Elvish- Thunder Bay Police Service
Even though other local officers acted bravely as well and were appropriately recognized for their courage, this article is about James (Jae) Elvish.
The reason for the initial rant about racism, is in my opinion, simply this; these officers at great risk to themselves reacted to a situation. Their obvious concern was in saving a life(s), I cannot possibly fathom how they could know the race of those involved. What this says to me is that the officers of this service most often with little to no recognition do so no matter who is involved. I hope that by the end of the article you will come to the same conclusion.
Born in 1960, Jae and his younger brother Jeff did not have it easy. The death of their father Peter at a very young age was difficult for them both.
Jae was hired by the Thunder Bay Police in 1989, Jeff in 1993, and if you were in a tight spot, having either brother around was a good thing. Jae had a huge heart, which at times did not serve him well.
Both brothers faced personal demons. Jeff has spoken publicly about his. Jae continues to battle his own. But as cops who cared, they did their job. While Jeff has moved on to a second career, Jae has faced a tougher road in recent years, though that is not important to this story. His police story is.
On May 26, 2010, a car entered the water at Marina Park. Both police and fire services responded while a diver searched for the vehicle. Without safety equipment, several officers entered the water. Jae and Jason Rybak rescued a woman from twelve feet of May Lake Superior water. Because of them, she survived, despite officers initially being advised it was a recovery operation.
On October 11, 2011, a fire broke out at a motel on Memorial Avenue. Guests remained trapped on the third floor. Four officers entered the building, crawling through smoke-filled hallways without breathing apparatuses to wake occupants and guide them to safety. Jae Elvish was again among those officers. All officers involved in both incidents were recognized for their bravery.
This is not routine officer behaviour. These calls may mean you do not go home at night. Race was not known. I do not see how the officers involved in either incident could possibly have considered race in either case. They reacted to a situation and saved lives. To me, that does not sound like officers who react to the skin colour of an individual but instead react to the situation that presents itself and act accordingly.
You would think this kind of effort would fast-track Jae’s career. But Jae was always a street cop first, even while serving in other positions. It did not help that he had opinions about both police and union leadership. Contrary opinions rarely advance careers in organizations.
There will be former co-workers who criticize Jae for his personal struggles, but as a cop, I saw very few who wanted to work as hard as this man.
If you hurt others, committed serious crimes, or victimized a child, Jae was not the officer you wanted to meet. Politically correct did not describe him. He simply wanted to arrest criminals, regardless of who they were.
Jae was braver than most officers who worked there, me included. He was not perfect, but he believed in the oath he took to serve his community, just as most officers do.
Like Jae, officers routinely place their safety at risk in service to others. Don’t tell me it is simply their job. Putting your safety on the line is not about a paycheque. It is a commitment to helping people and an understanding that the role carries enormous responsibility.
During the early 2000s, Jae and two other officers faced charges laid by the Special Investigations Unit. At trial, all three were acquitted of the more serious charge, but Jae was convicted on an additional assault charge. That conviction was overturned on appeal before the defence lawyer even had an opportunity to respond to the Crown’s argument. It was incredibly surprising to see a conviction overturned without anything from defense counsel.
The ordeal profoundly affected Jae. There were countless days when I spent thirty or forty-five minutes on the phone talking him through his anger, fear of conviction, and fear of losing his career. It was Jae’s firearm that had been grabbed during the incident. Fortunately, no officer was seriously injured.
I believe the experience led him down a path from which he never fully recovered. While he continued to do excellent police work, I do not think he was ever quite the same. It seems the public at large do not recognize the emotional impact this work can have on officers.
Jae’s bravery should have meant that when he faced challenges, he should have been supported. Some efforts were made years ago, but during his final years he largely felt ignored while dealing with PTSD.
Jae would have loved to again contribute. I do not know why that did not happen but regardless, his record should never be dismissed. It is matched by only three others in the country. He remains humble about his awards while proudly speaking about his son, Josh.
I am unaware of his record being matched by any former Chief, Police Services Board member, or union official. It is my belief it should be honoured. His photograph should hang in the station, recognizing not only these two incidents but a career defined by courage.
If we display photos of past Chiefs because they held the position, then I believe the photograph of James Elvish should be displayed as well. His bravery deserves to be remembered so future officers understand what heroism looks like. I hope Chief Fleury corrects this oversight. I would hope the police union would advocate for it.
Far from a perfect man, but everyone on the police station wall is imperfect. And displaying cultural renderings and acts of incredible bravery are not mutually exclusive. We should be recognizing in a more permanent way, incredible acts of officer bravery, especially for a man who twice risked his life for this city.
At any given time, there are approximately 70,000 police officers in Canada. Looking back twenty or thirty years and accounting for retirements and resignations, that number easily exceeds 150,000. We name airports after politicians and buildings after wealthy donors, certainly we can find a twenty-dollar frame to recognize one of only four people in the country to receive this distinction twice.
There are many stories like Jae’s that never receive the public attention they deserve. Officers regularly perform acts of bravery that somehow become expected, as though they are ordinary. They are not. Jae’s actions were not ordinary. Every officer who has jumped into a river, entered a burning building, or risked everything to save another person deserves recognition.
Why do those stories rarely make headlines instead of the racism allegations that appear so often? It should not be normalized.
When critics begin recognizing the work these officers do, and when our leaders actually stop capitulating to noise, perhaps some of the political nonsense disguised as progressiveness can finally be dismissed.
Just a thought.
Note: After completing this article, I spoke to Jae for the first time in a year. He thanked me for writing it. What struck me most was a comment that is close to, though not exactly, what he said:
“The thing that bothers me about those awards is that lots of other officers did similar things and were never properly recognized.”
That is Jae. Never hesitant to recognize good police work, even by people he knew were not fans of his. In that specific regard, that is who officer Jae always was.
