The Ottawa police community is grieving the death of a veteran officer who died by suicide.
The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) confirmed on Friday that an officer had died, although the circumstances were unclear at the time.
On Saturday, Matthew Cox, the president of the Ottawa Police Association, told CBC that Sgt. Robert Cleroux died by suicide on Friday evening.
It happened off duty, he said.
“Everybody [knew] him as Bobby,” Cox said in an interview, adding that he knew Cleroux personally as both a colleague and friend. “He was one of those guys that you knew would always be there to have your back. A great frontline community neighbourhood police officer.”
Cleroux was with the service for about 28 years, according to Cox.
OPS members received a message from the service and the union about his death on Friday. Cleroux’s family has been notified that it was a suicide, Cox added.
“It’s mixed emotions,” Cox said of how officers are taking the news. “There’s lots who are upset, wondering how they could have seen this coming. There’s sadness. I think it’s really the whole wondering how this happened, how didn’t we see this happening?”
Ottawa police posted this message on its Facebook page in the wake of Cleroux’s death. (Ottawa Police Service)
The OPP has been asked to investigate Cleroux’s death “to avoid our members having to investigate their own for a suicide,” Cox said.
The death is not believed to be suspicious and is being investigated by the OPP “as is standard practice,” OPS said via email on Saturday.
“Our hearts are with his family, friends and colleagues, and supports are being put in place for them and all members affected by this loss,” the police service added in its email.
“This is difficult news for our service. Policing exposes members to loss, trauma and deeply challenging situations, and events like this can affect people in different ways. Anyone who may be struggling is encouraged to reach out — help is available.”
‘We need to ensure that people are reaching out’
Cox also stressed that resources are there for those who need them “and we need to ensure that people are reaching out to those resources if they need someone to talk to.”
He added that “we need to start to normalize [discussion of] suicide as it is something that does happen and it does unfortunately happen a lot in the profession of policing.”
Cleroux was recently off work and before that had been assigned to the south end neighbourhood division as an acting staff sergeant, according to Cox.
In an OPS Instagram post from 2023, Cleroux was seen visiting a pre-school class in Cumberland, covering topics such as why and when to call 911.
“To top off this very adorable visit, the students made some banana bread which they generously shared with Sgt. Cleroux,” the post read.
Cleroux is survived by a wife and two children, according to Cox.
‘A very special human’
Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante knew Cleroux professionally and said he was born in and grew up in Vanier.
The pair would get together for breakfast to discuss community programs, with Cleroux as the “ideas guy.”
“Without him, some of our big projects would not have gotten off the ground,” Plante said, adding that Cleroux’s heart remained in Vanier even if he no longer worked there.
“He was a very special human and inspired me a lot to do a lot of really innovative and cool different things. And I’m really thinking about his family right now.”
Plante said first responders deal with a lot but often go forgotten themselves.
“We don’t think often about [them] until we need them, whether that be fire, paramedic, ambulance, police,” she said. “You generally don’t call them unless something is going wrong…. They see the worst of the worst almost every single day.
“And I keep that in mind a lot because we do have to support them as much as possible.”
If you or someone you know is struggling, here’s where to look for help: