It was an enormously touching day as Nolan Russell, 7, was introduced to a new police horse which bears the name of his late father, Sgt. Ryan Russell. Sgt Russell was killed as he tried to arrest Richard Kachkar as he drove a stolen snow plow through downtown streets in January of 2011. The parkette at Avenue Road and Dupont Street was later named after Sgt. Ryan. The introduction to his dad’s namesake, a handsome Clydesdale, was sheer delight for Nolan and his appreciative mother. “It’s such an incredible honour for my family to see such a beautiful and remarkable animal be put into service [and one] that’s going to work the streets just as my husband did,” Russell’s wife, Christine, told the CBC. This was Nolan’s first time riding a horse, she said. “I hope he’ll get to come back through the year and try again and form a special bond with Russell.”
