Corporal James Wilbert Gregson Galloway, 53, was shot in the back and killed February 28, 2004 after gunfire erupted at the scene of a standoff at a home in Spruce Grove. Officers were originally called to Greystone Drive cul-de-sac around 11:00 a.m. to investigate a report of a bullet hole in a vehicle of a neighbor. The bullet had entered the driver’s side window and exited through a rear fender. Investigating officers were told a resident that there was an agitated man holed up in a nearby residence and he was armed. The RCMP emergency response team was called in to seal off the area. At around 5:30 p.m. the suspect, Martin Charles Ostopovich, 41, attempted to leave the area in his Toyota pickup truck and Corporal Galloway rammed his suburban police truck into Ostopovich’s truck at approximately 45 mph on the drivers side to prevent him from getting away. After ramming the vehicle, Corporal Galloway, who was wearing a standard issue soft-bodied vest but not bullet-proof protective vest, exited his vehicle to take cover behind his vehicle when gunfire erupted and he was shot once in the back by Ostopovich. The bullet went through his chest, ribs, lungs, diaphragm and liver and Corporal Galloway died within one minute. Other RCMP returned gunfire striking Ostopovich with 12 bullets from an MP5 sub-machine gun and M16 in his arms, chest, neck, head and left leg and died within 10 minutes. They were taken to hospital by ambulance where Corporal Galloway and the suspect were pronounced dead. The man accused of killing Galloway had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but refused treatment and also could not afford the medication. In 2002 Corporal James Galloway, an RCMP dog handler, received a Certificate of Achievement on September 14th in Halifax at SARSCENE, the annual search and rescue workshop sponsored by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat (NSS). Corporal Galloway, who grew up in Quebec was living in Sherwood Park, Alberta, joined the RCMP in 1969 and its police dog section in 1975. Among his many personal initiatives to aid the search and rescue (SAR) community are his work in helping Alberta search dog teams form a province wide association, called the RCMP Civilian Search and Rescue Service Dog Association, and the time he takes teaching and implementing standards for SAR dog teams. More than 4,600 hundred people attended his service along with over 100 dogs. Corporal Galloway’s dog Cito attended the service in the church. Later the dog faithfully trailed his former partner’s coffin as it was driven away in a hearse. Corporal Galloway had 35 years of service with the RCMP, 29 of those years as a K-9 handler. Corporal Galloway is survived by his wife Margaret and three children, Jason 32, Karen 31 and Cory 28.
On July 19, 2008, a dedication ceremony attended by his wife and family members at the University of Saskatchewan’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine, Galloway’s canine legacy will be passed on to future generations of animal care-givers. A patient examination room in the WCVM’s new two-storey addition was officially named in memory of Galloway at a ceremony. The veterinary teaching hospital’s room 1522 includes a framed photograph and memorial of Galloway, with his last canine partner Cito.
