After being shot and seriously wounded in the line of duty in September 2021, Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Cst. Ryan Vendramin not only survived that ordeal but is back to full duty and is encouraging young people to be courageous and pursue careers in law enforcement.
Vendramin, 28, was the keynote speaker today at one of four Sault College convocation ceremonies being held at the post-secondary institution this week.
Graduates from the school’s Aviation, Community Services, General Arts and Science, Justice Studies and Continuing Education programs officially received their diplomas and celebrated at the school’s Northern Avenue campus Thursday.
“It’s an honour to be here today," Vendramin told an audience of graduates, who were accompanied by friends, family members, professors and administrators gathered in the college’s Health & Wellness Centre. "I want to congratulate everyone who graduated from their programs. I know it’s a lot of work.”
Vendramin attended Sault College from 2017 to 2020 and graduated from both Sault College’s Police Foundations and Protection, Security and Investigation programs.
He is also a 2022 Premier’s Award nominee and, while a student, led the Sault College Cougars hockey team to its first-ever national championship in the 2018-19 season. Vendramin led the league in scoring twice and was twice named league MVP. He retired as the team's all-time scoring leader.
After graduation from Sault College, he attended Ontario Police College beginning in September 2020 and began his policing career with the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service on Christmas Eve, 2020.
“Sault College was a huge reason why I became successful. The learning opportunities that I had here at Sault College prepared me for Ontario Police College,” Vendramin said.
“I gained confidence with every shift and learned a lot. It’s overwhelming at first but you get the hang of it pretty quickly.”
On Sept. 19, 2021, nine months into the job as a Sault Police officer, Vendramin attended a call and was shot at several times. One bullet hit his left leg.
He began a long recovery process involving bypass surgery at Sudbury’s Health Sciences North followed by physiotherapy.
Vendramin said he was told his recovery process would take two years with no guarantee of full recovery.
After several months he regained movement through physiotherapy and made a full recovery.
Vendramin returned to work with Sault Police on a light duty basis in March 2022 and on Sept. 19, 2022 — exactly one year to the day after being shot — he returned to full duty.
“I just want to tell all you guys this because I want you guys to be aware that this is a career path you’re going to take in which there’s a real possibility of this happening, and to tell you of the dangers that police officers face on a daily basis,” Vendramin told Thursday’s audience.
“Despite what I went through I’m back to work and I love being a police officer and I still say it’s the best job in the world.”
Vendramin spoke to SooToday after the convocation ceremony.
“I’m doing really well. I’m living my normal life as I did before the injury and that’s all I can ask for. I can play hockey, I can golf, I can do everything as I did before,” he said.
“My family’s been my number one support from day one. They supported me playing hockey my whole life and when I said I made the decision to be a police officer they were all for it. With my injury, again, they were my number one support and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”
He credited Sault College for giving him the knowledge he needed going into Ontario Police College.
“When you go into the job it’s in the back of your mind that there are dangers. Unfortunately it happened to me but I don’t let it affect me in a negative way. I just keep moving forward. The support I’ve had from everyone, such as family, friends, coworkers, the community, it really helped me with easing my mind and focusing on the recovery process. All that support made me feel like myself again,” Vendramin said.
“There’s no looking back for me. I’m just looking forward from here.”
Vendramin said he doesn’t hesitate to recommend policing as a career to others in spite of the dangers involved.
“Just because that happened to me I would never discourage someone from being a police officer. There are dangers to policing. There always have been and always will be. Some things you can control, some things you can’t. But the importance of having support is massive. If something like this does happen it makes the path to recovery much easier.”
Convocation ceremonies for Sault College graduates in Business, Culinary and Hospitality, and the School of Natural Environment were held Tuesday, followed by a ceremony for grads in Engineering Technology, Information Technology, Media and Design, and Skilled Trades on Wednesday.
Dr. R. Gary Sibbald, dermatologist and internist, will be the keynote speaker at Friday's convocation ceremony for Health graduates.