‘This city will never forget your son’: Brampton pays tribute to killed OPP officer Tarun Bali

The city will rename a park to honour the life and service of Tarun Bali, a husband and OPP officer from Brampton killed in the line of duty last week.

“This is a big city, but we’re connected…when there’s pain like this we feel it,” Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said of Bali during a committee of Brampton City Council meeting on Wednesday.

“We will never forget your son, this city will never forget your son,” Brown says he told Bali’s parents.

Bali, 29, was struck by a vehicle last Tuesday in the northern Ontario town of Hearst, about 520 kilometres east of Thunder Bay. He was born in Naya Nangal, a town in India about 358 kilometres north of New Delhi, but was raised in Brampton after his family emigrated from India.

He was a husband and a two-and-a-half-year member of the OPP Dufferin Detachment, as well as a graduate of Fleming College’s Customs / Border Services program.

On Wednesday, Brampton City Council unanimously passed a motion put forward by Brown to rename a park to “serve as a lasting tribute to Officer Tarun Bali, honouring his dedication to protecting others and ensuring his legacy is remembered by the community.”

City staff have been directed to work with Bali’s family to identify a suitable location for the renaming.

Bali was the first of two Ontario police officers killed last week. Toronto Police Service Const. Marc Pinizzotto, who was born in Mississauga, was shot and killed on Thursday, and that city also plans to name a park in his honour.

A funeral service for Bali will be held in Mississauga on Thursday morning. Police say it won’t be open to the public, but Bali’s family, as well as other police officers, military members and other dignitaries are expected to attend.

The public is invited to observe the funeral cortege as it travels from the funeral home in Thornhill to the Mississauga Sports and Entertainment Centre. Travel is anticipated to begin at approximately 8:30 a.m.

The funeral cortege will be travelling west on Highway 407 from Yonge Street in Thornhill, exiting at Dixie Road in Mississauga and travelling south to Matheson Boulevard East, then west to Rose Cherry Place, arriving at the MSEC around 9:15 a.m.

The public is invited to join first responders in paying their respects from any of the overpasses along Highway 407 between Yonge Street and Dixie Road.

“To help ensure everyone’s safety, please avoid obstructing traffic or stopping on the highway,” the OPP says.

Beginning at approximately 8:45 a.m., members from the OPP and other attending services will begin marching from Matheson Boulevard East, north on Rose Cherry Place to the M

“Members of the public are welcome to observe the procession as it makes its way to the MSEC. Those wishing to watch in person may line Matheson Boulevard East,” police say.

An 18-year-old man faces charges in Bali’s death, including first-degree murder.

OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said the suspect fleeing from police was behind the wheel of the vehicle that struck and killed Bali. Officers sought to capture the suspect safely after escaping from a hospital where he was being assessed under the Mental Health Act.