The Ryan and Jordan families will receive $100,000 from the Alberta Heroes’ Fund

The families of two Edmonton Police Service officers killed in the line of duty this week will receive $100,000 from Alberta’s provincial fund for first responders, the premier said.

Premier Danielle Smith made the announcement on her Corus radio show on Saturday, saying the grieving families of Constables Brett Ryan and Travis Jordan will receive funds from the Alberta Heroes’ Fund.

“Agent Brett Ryan and Agent Travis Jordan are both young men with young families, and so one of the things we need to support families is our heroes fund,” Smith said on Your Province, Your Premier.

“Thus, the families will receive $100,000 each to be able to contribute to the costs associated with dealing with this horrific tragedy,” she added.

Along with the payment, families will also be supported with donations from a GoFundMe page created by the Edmonton Police Foundation. On Saturday afternoon, fundraising reached almost $240,000.

The Heroes Fund was established in 2020 and provides unique, tax-free gifts to the bereaved families of police officers, paramedics, firefighters, sheriffs and provincial corrections officers killed on active duty.

Each year, the province contributes $1.5 million to the fund.

“It’s very rare to lose an officer. It’s been a really tough week for everyone,” Smith said. “It’s been a really tough week for everyone as we watched this tragedy unfold.”

During the broadcast, the prime minister said a regimental funeral would be held in the coming weeks. A few hours later, she retracted this information in a statement posted on social networks.

“This morning I shared information about the regimental funerals of Constables Brett Ryan and Travis Jordan,” the statement read. “Funeral details are not fully confirmed and finalized at this time.

“I would ask that the public wait for the [Edmonton Police Service] to provide the date and full details,” the Prime Minister added.

In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, police said funeral arrangements were still being finalized.

“It’s premature,” said Scott Pattison, spokesperson for EPS. “We will inform the media and the public once [funeral] plans for Constables Ryan and Jordan have been finalized.”