Wife of slain officer reads emotional letter at his funeral in Laval, Que.

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This article was published 09/03/2007 (6878 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LAVAL, Que. (CP) — The wife of slain police officer Daniel Tessier read an emotional letter to him at his funeral Friday, saying in the note she wrote in the hours after his death that she and their daughters will always love him.

“Daniel, you are and you will always be in my heart, our hearts,” an emotional Dominique Lapointe told several hundred people packed into a church in Laval, Que., for the two-hour funeral.

“Dear love, my love, you left us unjustly and too quickly. Never did I think that one day my heart would break in two under the weight of sorrow, anger and incomprehension.”

Lapointe said she wrote the letter last Friday, the same day Tessier was killed south of Montreal in an early-morning drug raid.

A large photo of Tessier hung behind the podium where Lapointe, one of their daughters as well as colleagues of the officer praised him.

Earlier, daughter Veronique told the service she is struggling to come to terms with her father’s death.

“Hello, dear father,” the composed 12-year-old told the service. “I miss you so much. There is an emptiness at home. Someone we adored and loved has gone. That person is you. I am so sad at losing someone so important to me.

“I am sure your soul is there. You are listening to us and trying to understand what happened.”

The girl, who was given a rousing ovation when she finished, said her sorrow is hard to bear.

“I could have filled a lake with all the tears that have rolled down my cheeks.

“In my dreams, I still see us as a family going through our daily routine with you. I would do anything to have you back.

“You were always smiling. You always saw the positive side of things. Every time I had a problem, you and mom would tell me ‘The problems you try to flee follow you, and the problems you face head on disappear.”’

Marcel Tessier told the service he would always remember his brother, a constable who had 17 years service with the Laval force.

“God, what have we done to you?” he said, questioning Daniel’s death.

Prominent politicians, including Premier Jean Charest and Parti Quebecois Leader Andre Boisclair, and police officers from across North America attended the service.

Tessier, 42, is the second member of the Laval police to die in the line of duty in 15 months.

Const. Valerie Gignac was shot to death in December 2005 during a routine noise complaint.

“It’s hard for everybody but with all the support that we’re seeing coming from all over the country and even the States, it’s helping us,” said Nathalie Lorrain of the Laval police force.

“We’re a big family, not only in our own police force but, as we can see, almost throughout the world.”

Initial police information listed Tessier’s rank as a detective-sergeant.