Dozens of Vancouver police officers lined a section of 12th Avenue Thursday afternoon to pay tribute to fallen Abbotsford Police Department Const. John Davidson as his body was transported from Vancouver General Hospital back to Abbotsford.
The officers were joined by members of Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and about 300 city staff who emerged from city hall at 12th and Cambie as a procession of police cars and motorcycles escorted a van carrying the body of Davidson, who died Monday after being shot while attempting to arrest a suspected car thief.
Similar tributes from other police departments and emergency personnel, along with impromptu gatherings of the public, occurred along the procession route to Abbotsford, whose police department is led by former Vancouver deputy chief, Bob Rich.
Davidson was an 11-year member of the Abbotsford department. He joined in 2006 after beginning his career in the United Kingdom, where he worked for the Northumbria Police from 1993 to 2005. He is survived by his wife and three adult children.
The Abbotsford Police Union has set up a Go Fund Me page to raise funds for Davidson’s family.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team and the Independent Investigations Office continue to investigate the shooting, which occurred in a shopping complex in the 3200-block of Mount Lehman Road.
Oscar Ferdinand Arfmann, 65, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in connection with Davidson’s death.
