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Ottawa Officer Killed in Stabbing Outside Hospital

Hours later, cruisers were still swarming the area around the emergency room where the stabbing occurred. Officers sought shelter in their cars from the frigid temperatures, which hovered around -20 C. They had cordoned off a parking bay with yellow police tape.

There was no immediate word on the officer’s age and rank. White said he wanted to give other police staffers time to notify their families of their own safety before announcing any details of the dead officer.

However, the president of the Canadian Police Association said he was a junior officer, recruited to the police force about three or four years ago when he was probably in his mid-30s.

Charles Momy said he met the officer in his role as president of the Ottawa Police Association at the time, and the officer stood out in the crowd of new recruits.

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“He seemed like a very jovial, happy-go-lucky individual,” Momy said.

His death will have a profound effect on the force, Momy said. “This is going to be a significant, significant loss.”

The last time an Ottawa police officer was slain in the line of duty was in October 1983 when Const. David Utman, 38, was shot at a shopping centre during an altercation.

“It tough. This city, particularly in relation to police officers, has been very, very safe. We haven’t lost an officer since the early 80s. Not that it would be easier. But it certainly is not something we’re used to dealing with or managing,” White said in his office after commiserating with a colleague on the telephone.

“My condolences go out to the family and friends of this officer. And the family of the Ottawa police service, because very quickly you become a family member in this organization, as I found out after a couple of years.”

Gregson has been before the courts previously. He received a conditional discharge in 2007 for pulling a knife on a Mormon church official in Regina the year before.

Court heard that Gregson, who was off duty at the time, became angry and brandished a knife when a bishop refused to grant him a special card that allows members to enter Mormon temples for certain ceremonies.

“You don’t know how many ways I’ve been taught to kill,” Gregson said, according to a Crown prosecutor.

Several months later Gregson had surgery to remove cysts in his brain.

He pleaded guilty in a Regina court in April 2007 to uttering a death threat.

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