Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: December 5, 1983
• Invested on: June 22, 1984

Late on the evening of 10 May 1982, Benoit Martel of Nepean, subdued an armed man threatening the lives of two people inside an Ottawa retail outlet of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. Mr. Martel was at the Hampton Park Plaza shopping centre when he observed a man pull a disguise over his face before entering the almost-deserted liquor store. Once inside, the man brandished a metal bar, demanding money from the cashier. Realizing that the cashier and a customer were at the mercy of a very nervous criminal, Mr. Martel resolved to intervene. Without hesitation, placing the safety of other lives above his own, he entered and grabbed the hooded man from behind. Though the suspect struggled to free himself, Mr. Martel pinned him to the floor until the police arrived.