Medals of Bravery for Lifesaving Work

Three Toronto Police officers were honoured with Ontario Medals of Bravery for their lifesaving work.

Constable Vyacheslav Biryukov was recognized for his work to save a vulnerable person from taking his life, putting his own life on the line in the process.

He his partner Constable Mortiz Lichtenberger were called to for an unwanted guest in a downtown condo building when the man who called police threatened to take his own life, climbing over the railing and standing precariously on a six-inch ledge.

“That happened within seconds. I stayed outside the balcony door and started to communicate with him while my partner is with the stepson in the bedroom. I also told my partner to call the Staff Sergeant, the Mobile Crisis Intervention Team (MCIT) and the Emergency Task Force to help with the de-escalation.

“While I am doing all of this, the man is walking on the ledge with his hands off and looking down. When the MCIT nurse arrived, I told him we have someone here who could help and I also asked him what I could do to assist. He refused to talk to the nurse, stopped responding to me and was attempting to jump when I ran behind him and grabbed him from behind.”

With the officer’s hands under the victim’s armpit, the man tried pulling Biryukov over the railing.

“I could have let him go as I felt my feet leaving the ground, but I decided to hold on to him and save his life,” he said.

As Biryukov was trying to get him back over the railing to the balcony, Constable Hector MacDonald of the MCIT team, stepped in and pulled the officer and the man back on the balcony.

While on the ground, the man started to wrestle with the officers.

He tried to grab Biryukov’s gun before being placed under arrest.

Detective Sergeant Jeff Alderdice said Biryukov deserves the recognition.

“He remained composed and in command while displaying lifesaving bravery with a complete disregard for his own life in an extremely hazardous and perilous situation while at great height and with a dangerously unpredictable individual,” said Alderdice. “It cannot be overstated that the officer could have easily been pulled over the edge of the balcony by the sheer weight and physical strength of the man.”

In May 2023, Biryukov and his partner were recognized with Service Awards.

Five months earlier, they averted a potential bank robbery in 51 Division by arresting the suspect in the bank without incident.

Constables Andrew Court and Vesselin Ivanov were the other recipients of the Ontario Medals of Bravery.

On August 13, 2022, they and Constable Pawel Grzesniak responded to a 9-1-1 call for a stabbing. 

Once on scene, a woman covered in blood frantically told the 41 Division officers that her husband had just stabbed her in the neck, and that, very worryingly, her younger child inside the home.

It was confirmed by witnesses that a child was heard screaming, and seen being pulled back inside the house after unsuccessfully trying to flee.

Toronto Fire Service members, who had happened upon the scene in the course of other duties, arrived to assist in the response, breaching the door alongside the officers.

The man immediately rushed at the firefighters and police with a knife, ignoring officers’ demands to drop the knife.

The officers had no choice but to shoot the man. The man retreated inside, but again, rushed at officers before they were able to control him and tend to his injuries. The man later died in hospital.

The decisive and brave actions of this team of officers saved the life of the child.

“It was a terrible situation and we were relieved that the child was unharmed,” said Constable Court. “This was a total team effort to help this child.”