OPP Officer Killed in Duty Honoured in Toronto Procession Today
Const. Tarun Barli, who was raised in Brampton, is being escorted from North York to Thornhill as first responders gather on Highway 401 overpasses.
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First responders and members of the public are gathering Friday morning on highway overpasses around 10 a.m. to honour Const. Tarun Barli, an Ontario Provincial Police officer killed in the line of duty in northern Ontario earlier this week.
Barli, 25, was struck and killed by a suspect on Tuesday as officers attempted to apprehend an 18-year-old man who had escaped from a hospital where he was being assessed under the Mental Health Act. Justin Veronneau, 18, of Hearst, has been charged with first-degree murder, dangerous driving and flight from police.
The procession will travel westbound on Highway 401 from Keele to the northbound Highway 400, then proceed eastbound on Highway 407, exiting at Yonge Street. It will be livestreamed on the OPP's YouTube page.
Barli had ties to the Greater Toronto Area, having been raised in Brampton. He was assigned to the Dufferin detachment but was deployed with the James Bay Detachment at the time of his death. He had two and a half years of service with the OPP.
Barli leaves behind his parents, brother, sister and wife, who was preparing to celebrate their second wedding anniversary later this month. Members of the public wishing to express condolences can visit the OPP's website or sign a book of condolences available in the lobbies of OPP detachments in Orangeville and Shelburne.
The procession comes one day after a Toronto police officer was shot and killed during a raid in North York.