A Moncton man says he is alive because of Const. Douglas Larche, one of three RCMP officers killed in the line of duty during a lone gunman’s rampage in the city last week.
In the moments before the three officers were shot, Steph Lemay nearly rode his motorcycle through the scene of alleged shooter Justin Bourque’s ambush for police.
Lemay says he didn’t know what was happening, but Larche, who was in his police car at the time, saw him and turned him away, at the cost of his own life.
“The gentleman jumped from the car and he started running towards me, yelling ‘Go back, go back, go back!’” Lemay tells CTV News. “So I turned by bike around and I went around the corner about 20 feet away and I could hear gunshots behind me.”
Two days later, Lemay learned the gunshots he heard had killed Larche, a 40-year-old married father of three.
Lemay says Larche will stay with him for the rest of his life and he is now finding ways to honour the fallen Mountie.
His green motorcycle – the same one he was riding the day Larche died – is now decorated with the Mountie’s name and badge number.
“I found out what Doug’s badge number was so I put his badge number on here and ‘D. Larche’ for Douglas Larche,” says Lemay.
“If I’m on a bike, I think I’m always going to have his name somewhere.”
Lemay is also paying tribute to Larche on Facebook, where he has changed his profile picture to an image of the motorcycle’s inscription. He has also set up a Facebook group to arrange a neighbourhood block party for those affected by the 30-hour lockdown that followed the shootings.
According to the block party page, all proceeds from the event will go to the families of the three fallen Mounties.
“The more my story gets out… the more people will know what Doug did for me,” Lemay wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jonathan MacInnis and CTVNews.ca
