Tara Jeffrey
Greg Babcock and Adam Williamson know things could have gone much differently on Nov. 20, 2020.
That’s when the Sarnia police officers were called to a domestic disturbance and arrived to a violent and volatile scene involving a small child being threatened by a man with a weapon.
The officers forced entry and were able to free the child.
“Williamson told the child to run to his mother and after further struggle, the officers restrained the man,” noted a report provided by the Ministry of the Solicitor General, which recently honoured the officers with the Ontario Medal for Police Bravery.
“Thanks to their calm, decisive efforts and teamwork in a moment of crisis, these two officers ensured the safety of a young child and diffused a potentially tragic situation.”
The medals are the province’s highest honour in recognition of police officers whose actions demonstrate bravery in the line of duty.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised to get the call,” said
Const. Williamson. “It’s overwhelming and humbling — but not something you really think about when you’re out there doing this work.”
The former London Police officer was paired-up with Babcock when he arrived in 2019 and the two “just clicked,” he said.
“It’s an honour for me to share this with him, because I hold him in such high regard.”
A virtual ceremony held in April honoured the 43 recipients from 2018 to 2021 and included Ontario’s Medal for
Firefighter Bravery.
“In recent years, when so many of us have been asked to stay home, these brave men and women continued to serve as first responders,” said the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
Both officers, natives of Sarnia-Lambton, said they credit their training officers and each other, for the positive outcome of a horrific situation.
“It’s an honour — and I’m sure there were lots of others who deserved it as much as we did,” said Const. Babcock, a 10-year veteran of the service.
“People don’t get to hear a lot of the really good police work being done.”
Having a strong support system — from family, friends and colleagues — is key in this line of work, he added, especially in the aftermath of situations like these.
“All of the decisions made in one-and-a-half-minutes that night
— all of that was preceded by years of training, the attention to detail my training officers have given me long the way, critical thinking, and staying calm under pressure,” said Babcock.
“And without Adam in this equation, who knows how it would have panned out. Thank goodness for friends that’ll follow you into dangerous situations.”