Shawn Russin accepts a Certificate of Appreciation from Melfort RCMP Detachment Commander Ryan Case (photo courtesy/City of Melfort, Facebook)

By Ben Tompkins

Certificate of Appreciation

I just did what anyone would do: Melfort man recognized by police after breaking up assault

Jul 25, 2024 | 12:35 PM

Melfort RCMP delivered a Certificate of Appreciation to a local resident during the City’s latest council meeting, for helping another citizen in her desperate time of need.

Back in April, Shawn Russin witnessed an assault in progress as a young girl was being targeted by three or four other younger people.

Russin didn’t hesitate when he saw what he saw, as he exited his home, crossed the street and then proceeded to intervene, eventually breaking up the assault.

“He saw that she was desperately in need of help and looked like she could sustain some serious injuries. He ran out of his house, stopped the assault, took care of her, and then called us to deal with it while also giving us the information we needed in order to make arrests on everybody that was involved,” explained Melfort Staff Sergeant, Ryan Case.

“I wanted to recognize him in such a way where it got out to the public so they know that these types of things are happening in their community and the type of good people that we have living in Melfort.”

Federal Politics

Liberal government to table federal budget this fall, PM Carney says

4h ago

Wildfires

Candle Lake residents remain on edge as wildfire burns out of control to the east

22h ago

New beginnings

'Beyond the crash': TV series on paralyzed Humboldt Bronco player set to air

May 18, 2025

Russin, who is a father, told northeastNOW that he felt he did what any parent or adult would do, as the young girl just needed help.

He also said that he never expected any such recognition for it, as he commended the local police when he mentioned how they do this sort of thing and more every single day.

“When you see someone in trouble, that’s the end of it, you have to step in and help, but I guess a lot of people just don’t do this anymore. I don’t think I really did anything heroic by any means, but it was very humbling to be recognized and very kind of the RCMP to reach out,” mentioned Russin.

As for Case, he seems to feel the exact opposite, as he knows how much police rely on community members for help and never expects anyone to put themselves in harm’s way.

“It’s pretty much impossible for us to catch everybody doing everything they’re doing, so we rely very heavily on the participation of residents and citizens in the area to report crimes, look out for each other, and provide us with the information we need in order to deal with the people that are committing these crimes,” Case added.

“Without citizens’ help, we would be extremely ineffective, so it’s just really nice to see people taking an active role in keeping their community safe and looking out for one another. We definitely don’t see people putting themselves in harm’s way a lot and we certainly don’t expect them to, but when they do, they should be recognized for it.”

–

news@northeastnow.com

On X @BenTompkins_8