Montreal police say new patch for fallen officers will be available next week

A new patch for fallen Montreal police officers was presented to victims' families at a ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (Montreal police)

Montreal police officers will soon have the option of wearing a new badge on their uniforms to commemorate their fallen members.

At a ceremony Wednesday evening for families of officers killed in the line of duty, the Montreal police service (SPVM) presented them with the badges, which include the phrase "Tombé(e)s mais jamais oublié(e)s," or "Fallen but never forgotten" in English. The force says it is "a symbol of solidarity and respect for those who have given their lives in the service of the public."

The new badges will first be offered to uniformed officers as of next week, while a smaller version will be distributed to civilian officers at a later date, a spokesperson told CTV News.

The badge, officially unveiled in May following a review of the dress code, replaces the controversial "Thin Blue Line" patches worn by some Montreal officers in recent years.

Social justice advocates and at least one MNA in the national assembly have criticized the use of the Thin Blue Line patches, which include a black and white Canadian flag with a horizontal blue line through the centre of it.

While it has historically been used by officers to commemorate fallen law enforcement officers, it has also been associated with the far right in Canada and the U.S.

A review by the Vancouver Police Service found that variations of the symbol have been worn by some explicitly racist rallies in the U.S, including the infamous 2017 Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., and various counter-protests against the Black Lives Matter movement.

After on-duty officers in Montreal were spotted wearing them, including when demonstrators held a rally in Jarry Park in support of the Ottawa "Freedom Convoy" protest in 2022, Quebec Solidaire MNA Andres Fontecilla wrote a letter to Quebec's public safety minister saying they were problematic.

After the new patches were unveiled, Fontecilla applauded police chief Fady Dagher for finding a solution.

"Yes, police officers have the right to remember their colleagues who died in the line of duty, but the 'thin blue line' has been taken over by the far right. This creates distrust among the population especially among communities that experience racial profiling. The idea of creating a Montreal police badge is the right solution," Fontecilla told CTV News in a May 2024 interview.

Other police forces in Canada have banned the patches, including the Ottawa Police Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

On Wednesday evening, the solemn SPVM ceremony also inaugurated the "Allée des Braves," a space dedicated to honouring the 21 officers who have died.