More than 6,000 police officers from across North America assembled in the Carleton Fieldhouse Jan. 7 to pay their respects to slain Ottawa police officer Const. Ireneusz (Eric) Czapnik, who was stabbed to death Dec. 29.
The funeral procession included thousands of Ottawa police officers, paramedics and firefighters, as well as more than 400 RCMP officers. Thousands of officers from municipalities across Canada and the United States were also part of the procession.
Carleton’s president, Roseann Runte, made the decision to offer Carleton’s facilities as a rallying point, said Len Boudreault, director of the department of university safety, explaining Carleton’s connection to the fallen officer.