Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: June 27, 2001
• Invested on: December 06, 2001

Constable David Rodney Nicholson, M.B. (Posthumous)
Senior Constable Curtis Rutt, M.B.
Constable Robert Sauve, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

On August 12, 1998, Curtis Rutt and Robert Sauve risked their lives trying to save David Nicholson who had become trapped underwater while attempting to rescue a twelve-year-old boy at the Grand River's Parkhill Dam, in Cambridge, Ontario. Responding to a call, diver Nicholson jumped into the water and was searching among the jutting wall abutments when he was sucked inside the sluice by the tremendous force of the water. Finding himself trapped because his scuba tank was wedged in a hole, he sent a distress signal through his life line. Seeing that efforts by several others to pull his partner out failed, Cst. Sauve jumped in but he too was sucked into the sluice near Cst. Nicholson. He was able to pull himself free and return to the surface before making two more unsuccessful attempts to dislodge his partner. Cst. Rutt then descended with a scuba tank rigged to a long pole but the tank was sucked into the hole as he neared the victim. Cst. Rutt returned to shore for a guide rope and, with a tremendous effort, managed to tie it close to his colleague. Regrettably, when the line was pulled up, Cst. Nicholson's regulator hose was attached to it, ending all hope of a successful rescue. The bodies of the boy and of Cst. Nicholson were recovered later.