Edward 'Eddie' Adamson
Staff Sergeant #2812
Toronto Police Service
1947 - 2005
Toronto Police Service
1947 - 2005
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Night after night, Toronto police Staff-Sergeant Eddie Adamson would cry out during a fitful sleep: “I’m coming, I’m coming, don’t die!” It was but one reminder of the haunting day in 1980 when he boldly stormed a restaurant where a fellow officer who had been shot lay dying, brutalized and held hostage.
After 90 minutes waiting outside, hearing both Constable Michael Sweet beg for help and a senior officer ordering him not to assist, Staff-Sgt. Adamson could wait no longer. Ignoring orders, he led a charge that other officers immediately joined. Despite the swirling tear gas and raging battle with two gunmen who had botched their heist, Staff-Sgt. Adamson tore off his gas mask and frantically started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in a vain attempt to save Const. Sweet.
For years afterward, Staff-Sgt. Adamson would call out in his sleep: “I’m coming, I’m coming, don’t die!”
That shocking murder on March 14, 1980, would claim another victim: Staff-Sgt. Adamson himself. Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, he ended his own life in 2005 with the pistol meant to protect him and his family from Const. Sweet’s killers, who had continued to taunt and threaten from prison.
After 90 minutes waiting outside, hearing both Constable Michael Sweet beg for help and a senior officer ordering him not to assist, Staff-Sgt. Adamson could wait no longer. Ignoring orders, he led a charge that other officers immediately joined. Despite the swirling tear gas and raging battle with two gunmen who had botched their heist, Staff-Sgt. Adamson tore off his gas mask and frantically started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in a vain attempt to save Const. Sweet.
For years afterward, Staff-Sgt. Adamson would call out in his sleep: “I’m coming, I’m coming, don’t die!”
That shocking murder on March 14, 1980, would claim another victim: Staff-Sgt. Adamson himself. Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, he ended his own life in 2005 with the pistol meant to protect him and his family from Const. Sweet’s killers, who had continued to taunt and threaten from prison.
45th DMMF Donation - 27th July 2015
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Barrie Sea Cadets #53 RCSCC
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