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(Posted
9:30 a.m., Sept. 14)
Orléans street named after slain policeman Eric
Czapnik
By
Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
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 Cst.
Eric Czapnik was killed outside the Ottawa
Hospital Civic Campus in December 2009. File
photo
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The
family of slain Ottawa police officer Eric Czapnik were
"honoured and humbled" to have a street near
the East Division police station on St. Joseph Blvd. named
in his honour on Thursday.
Czapnik
was stabbed to death by former RCMP police officer Kevin
Gregson on Dec. 29, 2009 while he was sitting in his police
cruiser outside the Civic Campus of the Ottawa Hospital.
Gregson stabbed Czapnik after he refused to give up his
gun.
His
widow Anna Korutowska and their children Lukasz Galazka,
29, Catherine Czapnik, 23 and Anthony Korutowska, 6, were
joined by dozens of police officers and city officials
for the dedication ceremony which was topped with the
unveiling of the street sign by six-year-old Anthony.
Czapnik
was assigned to East Division when he first joined the
force in 2007. His commanding officer was then Superintendent
Charles Bordeleau. Now Chief, Bordeleau called Czapnick
"a
true hero" during the dedication ceremony.
“We
want the name, Eric Czapnik Way, to be a reminder to everybody,
not only our officers and members of the police service,
but our community to pursue your dreams and never give
up on what you want to do,” said Bordeleau. “Although
he was a short time with us, he made a contribution to
our community and our police service and it’s something
that we will never forget.”
Czapnik's
oldest son Lukasz said his father became a police offficer
at the age of 49 to make the world a better place.
“We
will remember not the tragedy, but the character,”
said Galazka. “The character of a man who would not
give up his gun no matter what happened.”
The
ceremony was attended by Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and Polish
ambassador Zenon Kosiniak-Kamysz. It included an honour
guard, bagpipes, and a police escort.
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Ottawa
Police Chief Charles Bordeleau, Eric Czapnik's
widow Anna Korutowska, and Ottawa Mayor Jim
Watson hold up the new street sign dedicated
in the fallen police officer's honour. Metro/Joe
Lofaro
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(This
story was made possible thanks to their generous support
of our local business
partners.)
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