Widow of slain officer feared carjacking was planned

The widow of Ottawa Constable Eric Czapnik said she feared she was being targeted in a planned attack when a man entered her car and demanded money, a court heard Tuesday.

Anna Korutowska said the first thing she told a 911 operator on the phone was that she was the wife of Czapnik, who six months earlier had been killed by a knife-wielding attacker outside the Ottawa hospital's Civic Campus.

Korutowska took the stand for a second day in the trial of a man accused of carjacking her at knifepoint on June 27, 2010.

Kevin Ransdell is charged with robbery, forcible confinement, uttering threats and possession of a dangerous weapon.

Korutowska was asked by the defence about her 911 call during cross-examination because Ransdell has alleged the police used excessive force in his arrest and that he was struck with a baton and verbally abused.

He is asking to have the charges stayed, arguing he won't be able to get a fair trial.

Korutowska said she thought the attack might have been planned because she became a public figure after her husband was killed on Dec. 29, 2009. She said she feared she might be a target of anyone who had a problem with police.

On Monday Korutowska had told the court she was parked outside a south-Ottawa grocery store when a man approached her vehicle and demanded cash. After she gave him $300, she said he coerced her into driving him to another location, where he fled. She made the 911 call soon after.

The defence motion to stay the charges will be heard after the Crown submits its evidence. The trial is expected to last for several weeks.

A former RCMP officer, Kevin Gregson, is charged with first-degree murder in Czapnik's death.

Gregson's trial is slated for November.