The Town of Indian Head will be memorizing one of its RCMP officers who died while on duty.
On June 12, 2021, Constable Shelby Patton was struck by a vehicle fleeing a scene near Wolseley. The town will be opening the ‘Constable Shelby Patton Memorial Park’ later this year.
MacKenzie Craigie is the facility manager with the Town of Indian Head said people in the community wanted to do something instantly.
“Everybody realized the commitment he had, not only to our community but to the nation by serving as an RCMP member,” she said. “Right away, we had lots of different ideas, but we had a perfect little spot for a park, and that was the suggestion that a little volunteer group had that came forward to the town, and the town jumped on board, and it kind of went from there.”
“The main focus is to have a memorial for Constable Patton. It will be a large granite memorial with a bronze feature,” she noted. “We plan on having a large covered 16 by 40 covered picnic area, and then we are also incorporating outdoor exercise equipment as physical fitness was really important to constable Patton.”
Through donations from RCMP and residents across the province and the country, over $155,000 was raised for the park.
Craigie said the City is happy to know Constable Patton’s memory will now never be forgotten.
“These RCMP members they become your family when they live in these small rural communities. There on your slow-pitch team, they have kids in the same schools as you. You really get to know these members really well, and it means a lot for us to be able to raise the money and for years to come to have people remember Shelby. How he was, and who he was as an RCMP member as well.”
“I know it means a lot to his family, it means a lot to his friends, and it means a lot not only to our RCMP detachment but members from across Canada are just very happy to see that a fellow member is commemorated in that way,” she continued.
Craigie added that they hope to have the park completed sometime in the summer or early fall.
