Two bridges in Napanee have been dedicated to two police officers who died in the line of duty more than 70 years apart.
The Ontario Provincial Police held a ceremony Tuesday alongside family members, community leaders and partners to honour Constable Richard Arnold Beard and Constable Mont Alexander Wood.
OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said, “These bridge dedications commemorate the service and sacrifice of Constable Beard and Constable Wood. These officers served their community with pride and honour, their legacies continue to inspire today and will never be forgotten.”
Memorial signs were installed at Highway 401 bridges in Napanee. Beard’s memorial bridge is located at Newburgh Road, while Wood’s bridge is located at County Road 41.
Beard, a First World War veteran born in England in 1870, served with the Napanee Police Service for several years. He died on Aug. 28, 1921, at the age of 51 after being shot while investigating a suspected break-in at a jewellery store on Dundas Street. He was survived by his wife and five children.
Wood was born in Fernleigh, Frontenac County, in 1893 and later served in the Canadian military during the First World War. He worked as a police officer in Lennox and Addington County for 29 years.
Wood died on Dec. 1, 1951, after being struck by a vehicle while helping a stranded driver on Highway 41 near Northbrook during heavy fog. He was 58 years old.
“The Ontario Provincial Police Veterans’ Association takes great pride in honouring Constable Richard Beard of the Napanee Police Service and County Constable Mont Alexander Wood of Lennox and Addington County. Both served their communities with professionalism and dedication and tragically lost their lives in the line of duty. Their service and sacrifice are forever remembered through the dedication of bridges in their names today,” the Ontario Provincial Police Veterans’ Association shared in a release.
