Constable Pirthipaul (Paul) S. Paul Sanghera, PC#1070

Appointed November 1980, Fallen Jan 8th, 1982

Richmond born Paul Sanghera grew up loving the game of soccer. He played both for his Richmond High School team and later the VPD team. Friends and family remember him as an active young man and lover of sports. As a new VPD recruit, Constable Sanghera showed great promise and had a bright future ahead. 

It was a cold night on January 7th, 1982 when Constable Paul Sanghera and his partner Scott Meikle, were patrolling the south section of the city in their police car. Due to the snowy weather, visibility was low, and the roads were quickly becoming icy.

Shortly after midnight, the officers came across a car at 57th Ave and Argyle St. that had skidded off the road and crashed into a stop sign on the boulevard. The car was not severely damaged, and the driver had abandoned it. After inspecting the scene, Meikle returned to the police vehicle to make a report while Sanghera searched the car for information. As he was leaning into the car on the driver's side, a pickup truck driving down 57th Ave slid out of control through the intersection. It skidded off the road and slammed into Sanghera, crushing him between the two vehicles killing him instantly.

Constable Paul Sanghera’s funeral brought police officers from far and wide. Those officers flanked the funeral procession sending the young officer off on his final journey. To honour Sanghera’s memory, the VPD host a soccer tournament between local high schools every year.