An Ontario Provincial Police officer who was killed in the line of duty in northern Ontario Tuesday is being remembered as someone with a “good heart” who just wanted to help others.
Originally from Brampton, 29-year-old Tarun Bali and members of the James Bay detachment were attempting to stop a vehicle in Hearst, Ont., roughly 950 kilometres north of Toronto, at approximately 12:30 p.m.
During an “attempted apprehension” of that vehicle, the OPP said Bali was struck and later died at the scene.
OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique told reporters that the suspect, who has been identified as 18-year-old Hearst resident Justin Veronneau, had fled from a hospital where he was being assessed under the authority of the Mental Health Act before he was stopped by police.
Veronneau was taken into custody by the OPP and a Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service officer. He’s facing charges of first-degree murder, assaulting an officer, two counts of fleeing police, resisting arrest, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and dangerous operation causing death.
“The accused remains in custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Hearst on Wednesday, June 24, 2026,” the OPP said in a news release.
‘We’re going to feel this in Brampton’
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown spoke with CP24 on Wednesday about Bali’s death and called it “heartbreaking.”
“He was so young. He had such a bright future ahead of him,” he said.
Brown said that he has spoken with Bali’s father, who has informed him that he and his wife will be travelling north to repatriate the body.
“It’s just a stark reminder of the risks that police officers take every day. They run towards danger, so that the rest of us can be safe, and words just do no justice to the magnitude of this loss. We’re going to feel this in Brampton, I think,” he said.
Bali is the second OPP officer to be killed in the line of duty in recent months. In April, Sgt. Brandon Malcolm died in a single-vehicle collision involving a motorcycle on Highway 401 in Cobourg.
CTV News has learned Bali’s body will be transferred to the Chief Coroner’s Office in Toronto for examination and is expected to arrive sometime on Wednesday.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford reacted to the news of Bali’s death, saying he was “deeply saddened” by the loss.
“On behalf of the people of Ontario, I extend my sincere condolences to his family, loved ones and OPP colleagues. We honour his courage, service and sacrifice.”
Canada’s public safety minister Gary Anandasangaree, Carrique, and the OPP Association (OPPA) also expressed their condolences, with the latter saying that an incident like this is “every police and family member’s worst nightmare.”
Scott Mills, the strategic communications coordinator of the OPPA, told CP24 Wednesday morning that Bali was a “rookie,” having only been a with the OPP for two-and-a-half years.
He was assigned to central Ontario’s Dufferin detachment in Orangeville, but was on deployment with the James Bay detachment at the time of his death.
“It’s kind of extra work for them, and they help with staffing shortages and things like that up in the north,” Mills explained. “So he was going in the extra mile in service to the people of Ontario when he was tragically killed.”
Brown said that funeral details are still being worked out between Bali’s family, the OPP and Peel Regional Police. He said the city will lower its flags to half-mast today to mark Bali’s death.
With files from CTV News Northern Ontario
