The officers were honoured for their actions that day—which included taking care of victims and evacuating the Dawson daycare—in a small ceremony prior to last Monday’s Westmount City Council meeting.

“I believe the (public safety unit) makes our little corner of the planet a safer place to be every day, and they should always be recognized for their outstanding work,� said city councillor and public safety commissioner John de Castell.

“They were not obligated to do what they did on Sept. 13, they made a choice. We’re all proud of them for that choice.�

The officers were then presented with a certificate of honour by Mayor Karin Marks while Public Security Director Richard Blondin looked on from the back of the room.

“I requested this honour for my team because they are outstanding and what they did that day was remarkable,� Blondin said.

“Like Mr. de Castell said, my officers were not obligated to be directly on the scene at Dawson. We are here to support police and generally we stay out of the line of fire, but on that day, the choice was obvious to our people.

“They put themselves in danger and we are so very proud of them.�

The officers honoured were Sergeant John Everatt; PSOs Patrick Sheehan, Yook Wong and Kaushi Patel; Community Relations Officer James Novak; parking inspectors Peter Jay, Richard Lamer, Pierre Thibault, Lance Stames, Victoria Bleskina and Carl Tassé; and Dispatcher Claudette Gauthier.