Thunder Bay Police Service

Two members of the Thunder Bay Police Service are being recognized for exemplary work in the last year.

“Both of the recipients today were nominated by people in the building because of the outstanding work they’ve done,” Police Chief Darcy Fleury said at Thursday’s award ceremony. “We have a very difficult job. Having the organization recognize you is so important to people as they progress in their careers.”

Constable Joshua Pugh received the Lifesaving Award for acts of bravery and heroism for an event that occurred on December 24, 2025.

“It was a very, very traumatic event. What [Pugh] did that day went above and beyond the call of duty, and [he] showed what police officers are there to do,” Fleury said.

During that call, Pugh was shot at by an armed male who refused to comply with police commands. He returned fire and incapacitated the suspect before administering first aid immediately following the exchange.

“A call like that, by nature it could be very dangerous,” Pugh said. “So you’re thinking about keeping the public safe, keeping yourself safe and the other officers that are on the scene. Heading to the scene, you’re planning in your head what could happen, so you can try and be as prepared as you can when you get there.”

To Pugh, courage means doing the right thing even when you’re scared.

“It’s the reason I go to work every day,” he said.

Constable Ken Ogima received a Bravery Award for his work that day, but was not present at the award ceremony.

Fleet Manager Aaron Dowsell received an Innovation Award for saving the force over $500,000 in about two years of work by optimizing repair work for police vehicles in the garage.

“I was hired on and basically given full reins to the garage,” Dowsell said. “I didn’t do it for any kind of award. My job is just to come in and give 100% of what I can do.”

Dowsell’s biggest change was bringing maintenance and repair work in-house instead of outsourcing it elsewhere.

“It’s a trifold of benefits: it cuts costs rather than farming it out, we get discounts on the parts, and it brings the vehicles back into service way quicker,” he said.

A third individual who chose not to be named was recognized for his efforts in a fatal car crash on Highway 11/17. The officer and an off-duty paramedic attempted to pull a victim out of a burning vehicle, but were unsuccessful. The officer was able to pull the paramedic to safety as the fire intensified and the vehicle began to explode.

A police investigation into a violent assault has led to two arrests.

Thunder Bay Police Service officers responded to a call at Huron Avenue Saturday and found an injured man. He was transported to a hospital for treatment.

As a result of an investigation, a 25-year old Thunder Bay man and a 28-year old Thunder Bay woman were arrested and face the following charges:

• Assault with a weapon (two counts)
• Forcible confinement (two counts)

The man has also been charged with failure to comply with an undertaking and failure to comply with a release order.

Both of the accused were remanded into custody after their first court appearance.

The Thunder Bay Police Services Board has shared their 2024 year-in review reports.

The number of reported missing persons is down 57% from 2024 to 2025:

This year, the gender identity of missing persons was also included in the data:

• Females – 499
• Males – 309
• Undisclosed/non-binary – 2

Firearms seizures are also down significantly, a 29% decrease:

The number of sudden unexplained deaths has remained about the same:

*-The remaining number of reported deaths would include those that remain in the open classification status, fatal motor vehicle collisions, or overdose/apparent overdoses.

The next TBPSB board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21.

The Thunder Bay Police Service announced today that a total of $68,502.50 was raised for two local charities through the Thunder Bay Police Service Inaugural Charity Gala on February 28.

That money will be split evenly between the Thunder Bay chapters of the Special Olympics and the Boys and Girls Club.

“People really enjoyed themselves,” said Police Chief Darcy Fleury. “It was a great way for community and police to come together and spend a night sharing some wonderful times and getting to know each other.”

The night began as a quiet gathering before officers arrived in full uniform to the sound of bagpipes. Dinner followed, keynote speakers took the stage, and the live band Throwback kept the celebration going all night.

“It was stunning,” said Thunder Bay Boys and Girls Club CEO Albert Aiello. “As soon as you walked in, you knew the environment was special. The way it was decorated, the entertainment, everyone dressed to the nines. It’s something that the city’s been missing for a long time. We haven’t had a formal gala in quite a long time.”

Aiello says the funds will go towards nutrition and leadership development programs for kids here in Thunder Bay.

Live and silent fundraising auctions were held throughout the event. On the block were barbeques, fire pits, helicopter rides, local artworks and vacation packages.

“The sponsorship from this community was fantastic,” Fleury said. “It was just unbelievable, and it really helps us an awful lot.”

The gala attracted over 270 attendees and smashed the station’s fundraising goal of $40-50,000. Fleury says the station will host another gala next year and raise funds for different charities.

“We met about it this afternoon, and we do want to make this an annual event,” Fleury said. “The big thing about that is you can’t just do the same thing. We have to roll out something new, we have to try and find new ideas and make it bigger and better.”

The Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) Board has appointed Mark Figliomeni as its first-ever full-time Executive Director.

Figliomeni has previously worked in municipal politics as a councillor and mayor of Schreiber, as a board member and vice-chair of the District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board, and most recently as the Chief Administrative Officer of Red Rock Township.

But the director’s new role in leading the police board comes with historic baggage that will demand a deft touch.

In late 2018, the city of Thunder Bay was rocked by two reports that both characterized the TBPS as an institution wracked by systemic racism from top to bottom.

The Sinclair Report, published by Senator Murray Sinclair (who also chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission), observed a failure by the TBPS to investigate Indigenous-related crimes in the city and a general lack of faith in police by Indigenous residents of Thunder Bay and the surrounding district.

The Broken Trust report, published by Gerry McNeilly, Director of The Office of the Independent Police Review, came to similar conclusions one month later, specifically criticizing the manner of investigations into Indigenous deaths by the TBPS.

Both reports laid out a series of recommendations to improve police transparency and accountability, and ultimately repair the fractured trust that marginalized members of the city had lost in their public institutions.

The police board initially conveyed a reluctance to address the recommendations under then-Chief Sylvie Hauth, who is currently facing criminal charges and is set to face the courts in April.

But in the years since, progress has been made: the TBPS appointed Darcy Fleury of the Red River Métis as Chief, appointed two Indigenous women to the board, and last year released a public tracker to improve transparency in the service’s efforts to meet the many recommendations to transform the institution.

The appointment of a full-time Executive Director to lead the board was one of the recommendations of the Sinclair report.

Figliomeni describes his orientation into the new role as overwhelming but intriguing.

Though he is still familiarizing himself with the position’s nuances, the new director feels the new full-time position “enables us to evolve with the times.”

“Generally speaking, it’s the vision of the board to continue to get better, to adopt those recommendations from that report, and move forward,” he says.

Figliomeni is undaunted by the controversial history of the city police.

Despite entering uncharted territory as the first in his role, he feels that his own career history has prepared him for the task.

“When it’s an inaugural role, it’s one framework that you’re there to develop. So we have a kind of vision as to where it’ll go, but certainly it’s a vision that still needs to be developed.”

Figliomeni says his career history demanded “wearing many hats,” taking on wide-ranging responsibilities and relying on the establishment and maintenance of key relationships to achieve success.

The new director recognizes that the police board has a grave responsibility to make positive changes, but feels the progress is clear and visible.

“I think this board has a clear focus of being better, and I think you’ve seen that over the last year or more… I’m seeing a very engaged board, and a board very interested in being successful with a brand new strategic plan,” he adds.

Figliomeni sees the role he is taking on as intriguing, challenging, and one that will allow him to make a difference.

“I wanted to be able to contribute back to the city of Thunder Bay, a city that I call home.”