Ottawa (Canada) Police Officer killed in the line of duty. In support of our Canadian LEO brothers and sisters, my prayers and condolences to the fallen officer's family. Be safe all.
http://www.theprovince.com/news/Ottawa+police+officer+killed/2388237/story.html
Ottawa police officer killed outside hospital
By Meghan Hurley, Gary Dimmock and Neco Cockburn, Ottawa CitizenDecember 29, 2009 7:21 AM
OTTAWA — An Ottawa police officer was stabbed to death early Tuesday morning outside a city hospital emergency ward.The officer — the first city police officer to die in the line of duty since 1983 — was stabbed at about 4:30 a.m. outside the Ottawa Hospital's Civic Campus, police said.
A visibly shaken police chief Vern White said the officer died at 5:30 a.m., despite the efforts of paramedics and hospital staff. The officer's name has not been released, but there are unconfirmed reports the male officer was sitting in a cruiser outside the ER when he was attacked and stabbed.
One man is in custody after having been subdued by two nearby paramedics and quick-thinking bystanders, White said.White said the slain officer was at the hospital for an unrelated incident.
"It's with great sadness that I'm here before you today," White said at a media briefing Tuesday morning. "Please let me express my deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the officer and the family of the Ottawa Police Service who are dealing with this tragedy."
The Ottawa police major crimes investigation unit is continuing and charges have not yet been laid against the suspect. Yellow police crime tape blocked off the area outside the emergency department's door where ambulances deliver their patients.
White said the arrested man was not previously known to the police. The emergency room remains open, said Nicolas Ruszkowski, vice-president of communications for the hospital. Ruszkowski deferred all other questions to Ottawa police.
It is the first death of an Ottawa officer in the line of duty since 1983, when Const. David Utman was shot in an altercation at a city shopping centre.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
An update, the arrested suspect was a former RCMP officer. The suspect had some mental health issues.
http://www.theprovince.com/news/Ottawa+police+officer+killed/2388237/story.html
Ex-Mountie held in Ottawa officer's slaying Slain officer is a father of four
By Meghan Hurley, Ottawa CitizenDecember 29, 2009 2:52 PM
OTTAWA — The Ottawa police officer fatally stabbed early Tuesday morning was a Polish immigrant and "mature" cop who had served with the department for three years after joining the force late in life.
Const. Ireneusz "Eric" Czapnik, 51, was sitting in his police cruiser outside the emergency department of the Ottawa Hospital's Civic Campus at about 4:30 a.m. when he was attacked and stabbed.
"Like his father, he was proud to be a police officer and enjoyed serving this community in particular," said Ottawa Police Chief Vern White at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Czapnik immigrated to Canada from Poland in 1990 where his father had served as a police officer for more than 30 years, according to a family statement. His parents and sister still live in Warsaw, where Czapnik was born.
"Today we are faced with the loss of Eric, a police officer; and we grieve the loss of a husband, a father of four children, a brother and a son," the family wrote. "He was an engaged and dedicated police officer who truly enjoyed working with the community."
White said Czapnik joined the police force at age 48, after working in the retail sector for a number of years. He was one of the oldest recruits the department had ever hired.
He had previously also worked in Poland as an aircraft mechanic, and in Greece in construction.
The suspect arrested Tuesday in the stabbing death is believed to be a former RCMP officer, Kevin Gregson.
Gregson's lawyer, Israel Gencher, said Tuesday afternoon that his client was still being questioned at the police station. "I don't know what stage they're in," he said.
Gencher said his client would likely appear in court on Wednesday morning, "at which time he will have a brief appearance."
He also said police treat every homicide as important, but given the circumstances, he expects investigators will want to be "very thorough" as they probe the stabbing.
Police would not confirm the suspect's identity Tuesday afternoon, but were expected to release his name Tuesday evening, after formal charges had been laid.
"We have a good understanding of what occurred and that's why we are confident that charges will be laid today," White said.
White said there was no known relationship between Czapnik and the suspect in custody.
In an update made to his Facebook account Monday night, Gregson appeared defeated: "Life sometimes just runs you over — it doesn't matter how hard you try," he wrote.
Gregson worked as an RCMP officer in Saskatchewan where he threatened to kill an official of the Mormon church in Regina in 2006 after being denied a pass that would give him, a non-Mormon, access to a Mormon temple.
Gregson, who was off-duty at the time, pulled a knife and told the bishop he had been trained to kill in many different ways.
Gregson was given a conditional discharge, in part because he was diagnosed with cysts in his brain several months after the incident. He has since undergone brain surgery, and his lawyer, David Bishop, says the judge took that into consideration.
Gregson went through a native addictions counselling program at Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and became an orderly at a mental hospital there.
Gregson pleaded guilty to uttering death threats and was given a conditional discharge.
Czapnik is the first Ottawa officer to die in the line of duty since 1983, when Const. David Utman was shot in an altercation at a shopping centre.
Earlier in the day, a visibly shaken White said the officer died at 5:30 a.m., despite the efforts of paramedics and hospital staff.
The suspect was subdued by two nearby paramedics and quick-thinking bystanders, White said.
White said Czapnik was at the hospital to follow up on an unrelated incident, and was likely writing up his notes inside the cruiser.
"It's great sadness that I'm here before you today," White said Tuesday morning. "Please let me express my deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the officer and the family of the Ottawa Police Service who are dealing with this tragedy."
White also said condolence books would be available for the public to sign at most police offices throughout the city. Funeral arrangements were being made by the family, he added.
"I have to say I think I've received hundreds of e-mails today, not only from partners in what we do, but also from the community," White said. "It shows what a great relationship we have, but it's challenging when the relationship has been broken, as it has been here."
Provincial and municipal politicians also offered condolences to the family and community.
"Our community is in shock at this senseless crime. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of this officer and this will support them in the difficult days ahead," said Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien, adding that city flags would be lowered at half-mast.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said: "Tragedies like this one remind us of the dangers that Ontario police officers face every day. We are grateful for their courage and their sacrifice — and for the loving support of families who stand behind them. We stand with them in mourning the tragic death of Const. Czapnik."
Yellow police crime tape blocked off the area outside the emergency department's door where ambulances deliver their patients. A police officer's pistol and a black-handled knife could be seen near a pool of blood on the ground behind an Ottawa police cruiser parked outside the ER.
The emergency room remained open throughout the incident, said Nicolas Ruszkowski, vice-president of communications for the hospital.
With files from Canwest News Service and Global News
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
Robb Jensen
12-29-09, 19:58
RIP officer, prayers sent.
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