Constable Vu Pham - O.P.P.

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OPP officer dies after shootout
Last Updated: Monday, March 8, 2010 | 7:03 PM ET Comments294Recommend263

An Ontario Provincial Police officer has died after a shootout Monday morning near Seaforth, Ont., north of London.

Const. Vu Pham, 37, a father of three, died of his injuries in hospital, police said in a news release Monday afternoon.

"I am deeply saddened by the loss of this young brave officer, who was committed to protecting the citizens of Ontario," OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino said.

Pham's wife, Heather, and other family were with him when he died, Fantino said at a news conference. Fantino hailed Pham as "one of our heroes."

Born in Vietnam, Pham was a 15-year member of the OPP, working out of the Bruce County detachment. He had also served in the Cochrane and West Parry Sound detachments.

Earlier, Fantino said police were called at 10:18 a.m. ET to the North Line in Huron County. When the officer attempted to stop a vehicle, he was confronted by an armed man, shot and immediately incapacitated.

"The suspect was also shot in the incident and he too is presently in hospital," said Fantino, who added that then man was about 70 years old.

No other police officers were injured.

Reports suggested the officer exchanged 15 to 20 shots with the unidentified man

Faith Weber, a resident of Brussels, Ont., was a witness to the shooting. She told radio station CKNX that the officer and another man fired at each other across a road.

"The guy [was] laying in the ditch and the police officer was on the other side of the road in the ditch but he was standing up and they were both shooting back and forth at each other," she said. "When I was there, there was probably about five, six shots that already went off, and then we had to move back farther and then there was more shots going off."

She said the gunfire ended after more police officers arrived at the scene.

"There are still many loose ends to deal with," Fantino said.
(CBC)(CBC)

The province's Special Investigations Unit and the OPP's criminal investigation branch are investigating the shooting. The SIU investigates cases of serious injury or death involving police and civilians.

The unit has sent six investigators and three forensic investigators to the scene. They are looking into witness accounts and are asking people with information to call 1-800-622-2342.

With the latest death, 104 OPP officers have been killed in the line of duty.

Before Pham, the last OPP officer to die in the line of duty was Const. Alan Hack of the Elgin County detachment. On July 6, 2009, Hack and his partner were trying to arrest a suspect when a transport truck hit their cruiser. Hack died of his injuries in hospital in Newbury, Ont.

Funeral details for Pham will be provided at a later time, Fantino said.

Read more: CBC News - Canada - OPP officer dies after shootout

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Thoughts and prayers sent. RIP Constable Pham

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Thoughts and prayers sent. RIP Constable Pham

And if you didn't already hate politicians enough, the latest news is the shooter is an ex city council leader.

CBC News - Canada - Ex-politician suspected in deadly police shootout