At the Melfort City Council meeting on July 8, Melfort RCMP Staff Sergeant Ryan Case presented Russin with a Certificate of Appreciation and a small token of gratitude for his exemplary service to the community. In a Facebook post, the City of Melfort stated that Russin’s quick thinking and selflessness in assisting a community member in imminent danger prevented what could have been a serious injury.
Russin said he was shocked to be recognized in such a way by the RCMP and community.
“Absolutely, I was surprised,” he said. “When you go out and you’re just helping society and you’re helping a member of the community, you don’t ever expect to actually to get thanked by the RCMP for that extra little bit.
“Obviously, they don’t get thanked enough and I was just doing the right thing, so to actually get a recognition, get an award is a very humbling experience. I was just doing what had to be done at the time,” he added.
Russin said that in April he witnessed a teenage girl being assaulted by four other teenagers across the street from his house. The group kept assaulting the girl and then began videotaping it.
Russin next ran out, protected the teenager, and got the four assailants to run away, preventing further violence. Russin said it was just his instincts that kicked in.
“I mean, fights happen, but when they get to a certain point where the fight is done and these children were not stopping,” Russin said. “It was just a parental instinct or just a protection instinct to get over there and just throw yourself into the mix to make sure that it stops.”
Russin served as a city councillor for Melfort in the mid-2000s. He said it was an honour to also be recognized at a council meeting.
“That was nice, yes, to actually be able to go back into the council chambers where I used to be a city councilor and then have all of my friends in the community there to see that and partake in that as well. It was very special to me,” he said.
In the Facebook post, the City asked everyone to join the City in celebrating Russin’s heroic actions and commitment to community’s safety and well-being.
Russin thanked the RCMP in a Facebook post of his own.
“The RCMP do this every single day,” he said. “They’re the ones that deserve the ultimate recognition. The RCMP in Melfort were able to apprehend and catch all four of the people that were involved, so kudos to the Melfort RCMP and thank you very much for the daily service.”
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.c
