Remembering Constable Eric Czapnik, 10 years later

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, December 27, 2019        1:10pm

(Ottawa) – This holiday season, we remember the tenth anniversary of fallen officer, Constable Ireneusz ‘Eric’ Czapnik (May 26, 1958 – December 29, 2009).

Constable Czapnik was on duty in the early morning hours of December 29, 2009, investigating an assault. After bringing the victim to the Civic Campus of The Ottawa Hospital, Constable Czapnik remained outside of the Emergency entrance in order to file his report on the in-car computer. He was approached by a man and stabbed. Despite efforts from medical personnel and paramedics, Constable Czapnik, 51, died of his injuries shortly after the attack.

Constable Ireneusz “Eric” Czapnik was a proud Polish Canadian who truly enjoyed interacting with the public and serving the community. After moving to Canada in 1990, Constable Czapnik joined the Ottawa Police Service in April 2007, following in the footsteps of his father, a police officer of 30 years in Poland. He was a husband and the father of four children – three sons and a daughter.

We wish to take this opportunity to share a statement from his widow, Anna Korutowska.

“Ten years after his death, we continue to remember Eric—he was a great police officer, family man and person. We celebrate his life and mourn his loss,” said Chief Peter Sloly. “December 29^th will be a difficult day for this Service, for those who responded to the call, and those closest to Eric. It is a reminder of the dangers we see in this profession. Anna and Eric’s children will always have our support and will always be a part of the Ottawa Police Service family.”

“As we approach year-end, we naturally reflect on time past and what lies ahead. On this, the tenth anniversary of the death of our Brother Eric Czapnik, we think about how precious a life is, how it can be stolen, in a moment, in the dark. We honour Eric’s sacrifice, and in so doing remember his affection for his brothers and sisters, along with his family,” stated Matt Skof, President of the Ottawa Police Association.

We know that our community will keep Eric’s family and friends in their thoughts this Sunday.

- 30 - 

Note: Anna Korutowska will not make further comments to media and she asks that media & public kindly respect her privacy and that of her family.

CONTACT:

Media Relations Section                  

Tel: 613-236-1222, ext. 5366

____________________________

 Statement from Anna Korutowska

Ten years later, I cannot help but reflect on my family’s journey since Eric`s untimely passing. The first year or two were very difficult. I was overcome by emotions—sadness and grief—every single time Eric`s name was mentioned, my eyes would flood with tears. Over the years my reactions became not as strong but I still have my moments.

Even though 10 years have passed, there are still very raw emotions deep down. I would like to briefly share our story and Eric with you. Both Eric and I are immigrants from Poland. We both came to Canada in early 1990s. Eric immigrated to Canada with his family at the time, his wife and three small children and I came at the age of 19 to study English and French. Sadly Eric`s first marriage did not survive the immigration and he found himself single, heartbroken and depressed.

It took a bit of tough love, a lot of self care and a few good years for Eric to come to terms with his family breakdown. His first wife and children moved away to the Toronto area so his visits with his children were only during school holidays and as they grew older and had activities, first jobs and first relationships they were less and less interested to come visit their dad here in Ottawa. At that time I just turned 30 and gave up on finding love, decided to focus on my career, travel the world, live life and adopt a child by 35. Well God had a different plan for me. I met Eric on a blind date set up by a mutual friend. We started dating, were engaged within six months and married shortly after. We bought a new home together and three years later we welcomed our son, Anthony. With a newfound zest for life Eric confided in me that his dream job has always been to become a police officer just like his father was back in Poland for 30 years. While I was surprised at first I quickly came to realize that, in my humble opinion, he was a perfect candidate.

Eric was of sizable stature and was very honest, reliable, hard working, easily accepted and followed authority. I always believed that any passion and dream can become a reality with hard work and a little bit of encouragement. At almost 49 years old Eric became the oldest hired police officer in Ottawa. He was apprehensive and timid at first as he found himself working with many much younger people who were his superiors or colleagues with many more years of policing under their belts.

Needless to say he quickly fit right in and became a part of the family in blue. Eric gained a nickname ‘Pickle’ which comes from our homeland`s drink of choice which is an ice cold vodka shot followed by a pickle. He introduced this drink to his diverse group of comrades on his platoon during one evening when they were sharing stories of where they come from and what customs each of them have.

That fateful December night Eric was dispatched to a call for what initially was thought a break and enter at a library; but turned out to be a violent attack. Eric rushed to the hospital following the ambulance with the victim inside. He was sitting in his cruiser outside of the emergency entrance to the hospital filing out a police report about the attack when he was approached by a disgruntled ex-police officer dressed up as a detective.

The man tried to take Eric’s gun and in the process critically wounded Eric with a knife. Despite his injury, Eric never gave up his gun. Sadly, he passed away in hospital a short time later after running into the emergency room on his own.

After almost 10 years I can say we have accepted our lives without Eric physically present in it, but we are quite spiritual and we feel his presence with us often. We believe he is watching over us every day, keeps us safe, healthy and somehow makes sure things always work themselves out at the end. I am the one who is particularly grateful for this as being the only parent to an active 13 year old boy often leads to leaving things until the last minute and truly hoping for the best.

I know Eric also had his hand in the bond and relationship we have built over the years with his older children. I truly appreciate the time we spend together and their love for their younger brother and respect for me.

Even though life did not turn out as I planned and I would love to be able to change things and have Eric here with us, I am so grateful and cherish every moment I had with him. I am also very thankful for all the new people that entered my life during this journey of loss, grief and survival, the fellow widows and widowers, the mothers and fathers and children of the fallen. This journey undoubtedly has been easier with them in my life as nobody truly understands what a person is going through unless they walked the same path themselves. I have gained several very close friends who came into my life like angels, always by my side, always holding my hand and always keeping our family`s best interest in mind. Finally I am forever indebted to my family in blue, here in Ottawa but also across the nation and the US. From the first moments when I entered the hospital already knowing Eric had died, until today, I have been treated with utmost care, love and unprecedented compassion.

I know many members of Ottawa Police and Ottawa Paramedic Service were deeply and forever impacted by the events of that fateful, freezing cold night. We formed an instant bond and circle of support. We make a point of meeting at least once a year to remember Eric but also to feed on each other’s strengths. Wherever our family goes, we find wonderful and compassionate brothers and sisters in blue, it is quite amazing what a great family we joined when Eric became a police officer. We are forever grateful and proud to be always included, remembered and supported.

~ Anna Korutowska