Leah Thomas is being recognized for leadership and dedication in the face of adversity.
The Police Association of Ontario (PAO) presented South Simcoe Police Service’s (SSPS) Acting Staff Sgt. Thomas with the John Walker Memorial Award on June 1, in recognition of her work and accomplishments as president of the South Simcoe Police Association (SSPA).
“I am truly honoured and incredibly humbled to receive this prestigious award, especially when one looks back at the past recipients. I am grateful to have been included in that group of individuals,” Thomas said via email.
The award is presented annually to honour an individual who has served a member association of the PAO, and who exemplifies the qualities of leadership, devotion, and sacrifice in the face of adversity as demonstrated by John Walker in his role as President of the Belleville Police Association.
“We were so inspired with the leadership exemplified by Leah in arguably the hardest time of her career,” Mark Baxter, PAO president, said in an email. “While having to process the death of two of her friends and colleagues, Leah rose to the challenge of supporting members of the South Simcoe Police Association and exemplified strength, compassion, and love for them and her community. We are proud to recognize Leah’s leadership and dedication.”
Thomas said she had no idea she had even been nominated until the call came in telling her she was chosen as the recipient.
“It came as a total surprise to me and brought forward mixed emotions, as I was processing the events that brought me to that moment,” she said.
Those events included the shooting deaths of Const. Devon Northrup, 33, and Const. Morgan Russell, 54, after they responded to a disturbance at an Innisfil home on Oct. 11, last year.
Northrup was a six-year member of the service and worked with the community mobilization and engagement unit.
Russell was with the force for 33 years. He was a trained crisis negotiator and was assigned to uniform patrol.
“Losing Morgan and Devon on that tragic night was a tremendous personal loss. The loss was not mine alone, countless colleagues, our police organization, the communities we serve along with the families of our fallen heroes also experienced immeasurable pain with the loss. Everything I have done since their deaths has been with them in mind and to honour them the way they deserved to be honoured, as heroes.” Thomas said.
As president of the SSPA, Thomas is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the association and developing and maintaining positive working relationships with the police chief, members of the Police Services Board and elected officials.
“I have made a conscious effort in the past two years as president, to improve these relationships. Being a smaller service, we are not a full-time board, so much of the association’s work is done outside of our regular working hours,” Thomas said.
She highlighted the significant time commitment is not for ideal for everyone, and that it can be challenging to balance her work with the service and her work with the association.
“Somehow, I am able to make it work. It may just result in some late-night emails,” she said.
According to Trish Milligan, civilian director for the SSPA, Thomas began her career with Toronto Police in 1998 before joining SSPS in 2002, and became the SSPA secretary in 2018 before being acclaimed president in 2021.
The SSPA is a member association of the PAO, which acts as a representative body for more than 28,000 sworn and civilian police personnel from 45 police associations across Ontario, and strives to be a unifying voice for advocacy in policing.
With files from The Canadian Press
