Circumstances

On November 19, 2020, Provincial Constable Marc Hovingh (age 52), a 28-year veteran of the OPP, responded to a call in the woods near Gore Bay on Manitoulin Island following a complaint of a suspect squatting on another person's property.

The suspect had illegally cleared a road with a bulldozer and parked a 23-foot camper trailer on the property. Provincial Constable Hovingh and another officer attended the property and asked the suspect to leave. He agreed to vacate the property the following day. As the officers were leaving, they discovered the illegal cultivation of cannabis adjacent to the camper trailer and they returned to the trailer to arrest the suspect that same day.

The suspect was asked to exit his locked trailer; however, he refused. The officers gained entry into the trailer, and Provincial Constable Hovingh went inside to arrest him. The suspect fired three rounds at Provincial Constable Hovingh from a shotgun. Even though he was shot twice, Provincial Constable Hovingh heroically managed to return fire, fatally striking the suspect and eliminating the threat to other officers and civilians who were present.

Tragically, Provincial Constable Hovingh succumbed to his injuries. Provincial Constable Hovingh’s selfless acts of bravery, courage and ultimate sacrifice not only saved the lives of his partner and the nearby civilian witnesses, but potentially saved the lives of the many other responding officers due to the further weapons and explosives caches later located in the trailer and around the property.

Postscript

Post-incident forensic analysis of the scene led to the discovery of dozens of improvised explosives and incendiary materials on the property, and numerous firearms inside the Brohman trailer. The marijuana grow-op was estimated to be worth approximately 100,000 dollars.