The wife of a Belleville, Ont., police officer wounded in a Sept. 20 shootout near the community’s synagogue has described the incident as “the scariest and darkest day of our lives,” while providing an update on her husband’s recovery.
“I don’t know where to begin. My words aren’t strong or steady yet, but I knew I needed to find them,” Ashley Smith wrote online on Sept. 23. “I needed to use my voice for my dear Jeff until he is able to use his.”
Const. Jeff Smith, a 13-year veteran of the Belleville Police Service and a member of its emergency response unit, was shot during an altercation with a suspect outside of the Sons of Jacob Synagogue as worshippers were observing Yom Kippur. Police identified the suspect as Sean Ward, 29, who arrived in a truck armed with a shotgun as worshippers were celebrating Yom Kippur….