Flags are flying at half-mast and the mood is sombre at Kingston Police Headquarters this week after a young detective with a bright future died last Thursday.

Brent James Griffiths, 36, died at home with his family by his side after a 20-month battle with cancer.

Griffiths leaves behind his wife, Alison, his seven-year-old twin children Jack and Lily, his parents, Ron and Dawn Griffiths, two brothers, Mitch and David, and his two grandmothers, Norma Griffiths and Cindy Creaser, as well as his extended family.

“He was a great guy to work with, you’d trust him with your life,” said Det. Const. Jason Alblas, a co-worker and good friend of Griffiths’ who spoke to the Whig-Standard about his longtime police partner.

Alblas said Griffiths was hired by Kingston Police in late 2001 with Alblas coming in shortly afterwards in the next intake of officers.

The pair met a few years earlier while taking the Police Foundations program at St. Lawrence College.

Alblas said Griffiths worked on uniform patrol for a few years, then was a member of the tactical team for six years, followed by working as a detective in the sexual assault unit.

He was also active in the Police Association performing a variety of duties, including working on the bargaining and legal committees.

“He was an amazing guy to work with,” said Alblas, a detective in the fraud unit. “I was lucky enough to be on the same shift with Brent for a number of years and we both got on the tac team a year apart.”

Alblas and Griffiths spent a lot of time together, riding on long patrol shifts or on the tactical team.

“I’ve spent more hours with that guy than I think maybe each of us did with our spouses over a period of time.”

Alblas said the men would talk about their relationships with their future wives and later Griffiths would describe how excited he was that he and his wife were going to have children.

“It was really neat to see how proud he was as things went on.”

Alblas said Griffiths was an officer who took his job seriously and had an attention to detail.

“He’s one of those guys that everybody at work strives to be like: honest, trustworthy, hard-working and compassionate with people,” Alblas said.

“He knew the job well and knew his role well. In each of the different areas he worked he excelled. He’s the kind of guy that everybody wanted to work like.”

Griffiths grew up on Wolfe Island and attended Frontenac Secondary School.

As for Griffiths’ personal life, Alblas described him as a loving and dedicated husband and father.

“His family was No. 1 for him. He certainly loved his wife Ali and the kids Jack and Lily.”

Alblas told a story about how dedicated Griffiths was to his family when, after a training day with the tactical team, he went out for a couple of beers with his colleagues. He ordered two beers right off the bat, along with the bill, so he could make a quick getaway to spend time with his family.

“We looked out the window to see Brent sprinting to his car to save those few seconds. At the time, it was hilarious.”

Alblas said Griffiths wasn’t much into sports or hobbies but he did enjoy boxing, working out and running.

“He kind of ran like a gazelle; he was a pretty good runner.”

Some of Griffiths’ favourite activities were with his children. He enjoyed taking Lily to horseback riding and Jack to hockey.

“He just loved watching the kids do that and was so proud of both of them.”

Alblas said he went to see his friend and partner a few days before Griffiths died.

“I got that last few minutes to tell him what I thought of him and what a great guy I thought he was and say goodbye to him.”

Alblas said he appreciated the opportunity to see his friend and colleague one last time but found the experience as “tough as hell.”

“I feel very fortunate that I was able to be there and talk to him for those few minutes.”

Alblas said he will miss his friend.

“I keep thinking I can pick up my phone now and send him a message and say, ‘Hi buddy, how you doing?’ So it’s tough not to have that anymore.”

A celebration of Griffiths’ life will be held at the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour on Thursday at 3 p.m.

A family graveside ceremony will be held at a later date.

In keeping with Griffiths’ wishes, an education trust fund for the couple’s twins, Jack and Lily, has been set up. Contributions can be made at the service or by contacting Cam Gough at camgough@hotmail.com.

ian.macalpine@sunmedia.ca

Twitter.com @IanMacAlpine