British Columbia

Memorial plaque unveiled for RCMP Const. Sarah Beckett

A memorial plaque for Const. Sarah Beckett, killed in a crash outside of Victoria in April, was unveiled Wednesday at the West Shore RCMP detachment in Langford.

Mother of two was killed in April when a pickup truck hit her police cruiser

Const. Benje Bartley (left) and Const. Joanne Harrisson stand on either side of a memorial plaque for late Const. Sarah Beckett. (Megan Thomas/CBC)

A memorial plaque for Const. Sarah Beckett — who was killed in a car crash outside Victoria in April — was unveiled Wednesday at the West Shore RCMP detachment in Langford, B.C.

Colleagues, family and members of the public gathered on July 27 for the unveiling of the plaque, which sits in a flower garden in front of the detachment.

"The plaque helps to ensure that those who follow us will always remember Sarah," said Chief Supt. Ray Bernoties, district commander for Vancouver Island RCMP.

The memorial plaque sits in a flower garden in front of the West Shore RCMP detachment, where Const. Beckett use to work. (Megan Thomas/CBC)

"This plaque will help to ensure that all new members and employees, and people in the community, can come by and see and also remember and pay their respects." 

Bernoties said many are still healing from the loss.

"I don't think we can underestimate the impact this is having on our RCMP members here, but they're an incredibly resilient bunch," he said.

Beckett, 32, was killed when a pickup truck hit her police cruiser in Langford on April 5.

An investigation into the collision that killed her is ongoing.

Beckett, an 11-year member of the force who spent her entire career on Vancouver Island, is survived by her husband and two young children.

Beckett, shown here in a 2008 Facebook photo, had just returned to work after her second maternity leave (Facebook )

Janelle Breese Biagioni, whose husband Gerald Breese was an RCMP officer who died in the line of duty 25 years ago, said she understands what the Beckett family is going through.

"For them to do the work of healing now is the most important thing, because her children need to remember her," Breese Biagioni said.

With files from Megan Thomas