Thierry LeRoux, slain Quebec police officer, honoured in Chicoutimi
26-year-old was shot while responding to call about domestic dispute in Lac-Simon, Que.
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- Thierry LeRoux is remembered as avid hockey player, loyal friend
The funeral for Thierry LeRoux, the 26-year-old police officer shot and killed in the Algonquin community of Lac-Simon earlier this month, was held today in Chicoutimi, Que.
LeRoux's casket, draped in the flag of the Lac-Simon police force, was brought into a Chicoutimi cathedral by a Sûreté du Québec honour guard.
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Premier Philippe Couillard joined LeRoux's friends and family, as well as dozens of police officers, at the service.
Joanie Vaillancourt, LeRoux's girlfriend, took a deep breath before offering her eulogy.
"Today is incredibly difficult because I have to say good-bye to you," she said. "You are, and will always be, the love of my life."
LeRoux was also remembered as an avid hockey player and loyal friend.
"When he walked into a room, the atmosphere changed," said his childhood friend Simon Villeneuve.
LeRoux was killed on Feb. 13 after he and his partner responded to a call about a domestic dispute in Lac-Simon, near Val-d'Or, about 500 kilometres northwest of Montreal.
Investigators said the gunman was 22-year-old Joseph Anthony Raymond-Papatie, who killed himself afterwards.
A native of Amos, Que., LeRoux had been working in the community for only six months with the local aboriginal police force. This was his second contract.