A memorial for the three RCMP officers killed in Moncton is a step closer to completion.
Artist Morgan MacDonald is visiting the Greater Moncton area to collect thumbprints from anyone who wants to make a lasting impression on the memorial monument. He says this is the first time he has turned to the public for help in creating one of his sculptures.
“We’re going to warm it up, make it malleable enough so they can press their fingerprints or their thumbprints on it, and what’s going to happen after that is the maple leaf is going to come back to the foundry and we’re actually going to cast that directly in bronze,” says MacDonald, who lives in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“This is an opportunity that our residents can come out and be part of this fantastic monument,” says city spokesperson Ann Seamans.
Codiac RCMP Supt. Paul Beauchesene says many memorials have come in from around the country since the shooting, but that MacDonald’s piece is different because local officers can join the public in its creation.
“Whoever is moving this forward is right on track … the people are the police, the police are the people,” says Beauchesne.
MacDonald hopes to get about 150 thumbprints on each of the 12 maple leaves that will surround the bottom of the monument. He will be at Riverview City Hall on Thursday and Moncton City Hall on Monday.
The official unveiling of the monument will be held in Riverfront Park on June 4, the second anniversary of the shootings that claimed the lives of constables Dave Ross, Doug Larche and Fabrice Gevaudan.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jonathan MacInnis
