Saturday, January 09, 2010

Constable Kevin Gregson Charged with Murder

The man accused of stabbing Ottawa Police Constable Eric Czapnik to death last week showed up on the doorstep of the Ottawa-area home of RCMP Commissioner William Elliott last year, the Ottawa Citizen has learned.

The Citizen has also learned that RCMP Constable Kevin Gregson, now charged with first-degree murder, was later instructed at an Ottawa disciplinary hearing in November to quit the national police force within two weeks or be fired.

"The RCMP can confirm Const. Gregson did go to the commissioner's home to drop off some material, without incident. This was in violation of one of the conditions of his earlier suspension, which was to not attend the home of any employee of the RCMP without being specifically invited," Sergeant Pat Flood said in a statement to the Citizen. The force would not say when Const. Gregson went to the commissioner's home.

"A disciplinary hearing on violations of the conditions of his suspension was held in November 2009 in Ottawa under the RCMP code of conduct.

"The board directed Const. Gregson to resign from the force within 14 days or be dismissed. He appealed that ruling," Sgt. Flood said. The appeal has not been heard.

Const. Gregson, 43, told his parents about the visit he paid to the RCMP commissioner's home, the Citizen has also learned.

The Citizen has learned that Const. Gregson visited his parents, who live in Gloucester, an Ottawa suburb, in the hours before the stabbing.

Const. Czapnik, 51, was attacked at 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 29 as he wrote notes from his final call -- an alleged sex assault on a librarian -- in his cruiser outside the emergency department of the Ottawa Hospital's Civic campus.

Four paramedics -- three women and one man -- were busy filling out reports from their night's calls when they saw the struggle and intervened.

The attacker raised his bloody knife to slash a paramedic when a female paramedic grabbed his arm and kicked him, downing the attacker.

Const. Gregson is in an Ottawa jail awaiting trial.

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