OPP are releasing the identity of the officer who died in the line of duty in Cobourg on Monday afternoon.
On April 27, 2026 shortly after 5:30 p.m., members of the Northumberland OPP responded to reports of a single-vehicle collision involving a motorcycle on Highway 401 near Burnham Street North. A member of the OPP was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The officer has been identified as Sergeant Brandon Malcolm, who joined the OPP in June 2020 and served his entire career with the Northumberland Detachment.
While officers were responding to the initial incident, two OPP cruisers were involved in a secondary collision with a stopped passenger vehicle on Highway 401 westbound near the primary collision scene. Three OPP officers were transported to a local hospital as a precaution and have since been released. No other injuries were reported.
The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Coroner and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service. Assistance is being provided by the OPP Traffic Management and Enforcement Team, as well as OPP Forensic Identification Services.
Highway 401 was closed to traffic at Cobourg for an investigation for several hours but was completely reopened at around 3 a.m. Tuesday.
Anyone with any information or video footage in relation to this incident is asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or ontariocrimestoppers.ca.
A video recording of OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique’s statements from this evening from Northumberland Detachment are available on OPP Central Region’s X and Facebook pages. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
