A ceremony was held Wednesday morning in honour of fallen Montreal police officer André Lalonde, who was shot and killed 30 years ago during a routine traffic stop in Senneville, Que. His killer still has not been brought to justice. There was a solemn march to the place where he was fatally shot. At the front of the procession was the family of officer Lalonde, who was killed just two months before his retirement. “The fact that we are gathered here today, three decades later, clearly shows that he has not been forgotten,” said his son, Patrick. On April 29, 1996, Lalonde was patrolling in the quiet West Island town at around 10 a.m. He pulled over a car with a broken muffler and, as he approached the vehicle, the driver — without provocation — fired three shots at Lalonde, fatally wounding him. His son remembers being pulled from his CEGEP class and rushed to the hospital. Lalonde’s wife, Nicole, says he wasn’t supposed to work that day but was called in at the last minute. She says he answered the call happily because he was that kind of guy. “We will never forget Andre because his character was a very a nice man,” she said. He was a passionate and committed police officer who was well liked by the community he served, and still had big plans. “We cried a lot. All the family. And we miss him,” Nicole said. Lalonde’s partner, Gerald L’Abbe, wasn’t with him the moment he was shot but remembers responding to the call. “I was the second one to arrive. There was already a car here with two guys trying to revive my colleague,” he recalled. Two officers were already performing CPR when he arrived. He says it was tragic to see Lalonde suffering. Today, there is a stone plaque at the corner of Elmwood and Senneville honouring Lalonde, adorned with flowers from friends, family, and local residents. “I’m happy to see, after 30 years, that it’s still there,” Lalonde’s son said. Despite the time that has passed, the family has never truly gotten closure. The killer’s car was discovered burned out later that day, but he was never brought to justice. Patrick said he hopes that one day the killer will surrender to police. In the meantime, they work to keep Lalonde’s memory alive.
