Members of Conestoga Mall security honoured by police

Mall security team honoured by regional police A ceremony was held Tuesday night to honour civilians and officers who risked their own safety to help others. Ashley Bacon reports.

Heroes among us were being honoured Tuesday night by Waterloo Regional Police at their annual awards ceremony. Three members of Conestoga mall’s security team were honoured. Police say their brave actions were instrumental in ensuring public safety, and a quick arrest of the suspects. “It’s nice to be recognized and it was a nice surprise when I received the letter in the mail,” said Weston Cordeiro, award recipient.

Three brave security team members stepped in to try and stop a violent robbery at Conestoga mall in February 2023. The suspects, armed with hammers, injured one person. The mayhem unfolded before police arrived. “It feels good. I mean, just knowing that you’re being recognized for doing something positive in the community,” said one of the security team who stepped in, Stefan Despotovic.

Every year regional police recognize those who go ‘above and beyond’ in the name of community safety.

“This is a night to really recognize the great work of not only our uniformed members but our civilian professionals, communicators that all help to make this community safe and at the same time, we get the opportunity to recognize members of our community all in one night,” said WRPS Inspector Kyle Lambert.

People like Andrew Hook who stopped a man from stabbing a woman and Carrie McCollum who pulled a trapped man out of a burning vehicle. “We can’t do our job without the partnership and the support of our community,” said Lambert.

Some of those being honoured said they’d do it again. “I appreciate the honour obviously, of being named but ultimately we were just trying to do our jobs that day and we were just trying to, you know, keep the public safe,” said Hayden Lindner.

Even after receiving the recognition Lindner stayed humble. “I’m sure there’s many people who deserve it much more.”

Many were honoured from both the public and the ranks of the regional police, including a police team who investigated a string of armed pharmacy robberies in the region.