BARRHAVEN
We continue to be open during the coVid-19 pAndeMic COVID-19 PANDEMIC PHARMACY HOURS
MON-FRIDAY: 9-6 SAtURDAYS: 9-3 SUNDAYS: ClOSED We are temporarily reducing our opening hours during the pandemic to reduce the strain on our staff & so we can continue to provide an essential service in helping you stay healthy.
CALL AHEAD TO ARRANGE PRESCRIPTION CURBSIDE PICK-UP
Check out our new and improved website to get the latest local news and events. www.barrhavenindependent.ca
BARRHAVEN
Year 31 • issue 8
FREE
www.barrhavenindependent.ca
FRIDAY • April 16 • 2021
Barrhaven cop pleads guilty, avoids trial and jail time By Charlie Senack Eric Post, a veteran Ottawa Police Officer, has resigned after pleading guilty to five charges relating to violence against women. The 50-year-old Barrhaven resident resigned on March 31 as part of a plea deal that will spare him jail time and avoid trial. Post was originally arrested and charged in the fall 2018 with 32 offences coming from seven women. The charges included sexual assault, forcible confinement, and uttering threats. Post was then suspended with pay from the Ottawa Police Service for two and a half years. During a virtual court hearing on April 1, Post pleaded guilty to four charges of assault and one charge of uttering threats. The charges were from four
of the seven women. The additional 27 charges were dropped, which included charges relating to one woman who died by suicide in September, 2020. Ontario Court Justice Robert Wadden told the virtual courtroom that Post abused his position of authority and used it to obtain psychological control and domination of his victims. Three women issued victim impact statements during the hearing and expressed some of the gruelling and controlling behaviour they dealt with from Post. Even now, years after the alleged incidents occurred, they say they still live in fear. The victims’ identities are protected by a court-ordered publication ban. The Barrhaven Independent has decided to call one of the women Anna as a pseudonym.
“You touched me without permission and you did so aggressively,” said one victim in her impact statement. “You did all that while believing that you were entitled to treat and act that way because you were a man and a police officer. “On my way home, I was still trying to process all that had happened; your hands on my throat, you saying you weren’t sure if you wanted to choke me or kiss me,” she added. “You telling me so many times that all your police gear, including your gun, was in your car, your whole demeanour about women and how police officers are untouchable.” The third woman to read her victim impact statement lives in the same Barrhaven neighborhood as Post. Anna, as the Barrhaven Independent is calling her, told the
court that Post threatened to burn her house down; just one of many alleged threats she faced over the span of a few years. Anna was the first woman to file a complaint against Post and dated the former cop on and off for about three years. The two first met on a dating site called ‘Plenty of Fish’. Anna, who is a kindergarten teacher at a downtown elementary school, said her workplace had to implement a safety plan in case Post entered the building. In a previous interview with CBC’s The Fifth Estate, Anna said Post would show up unannounced at her school and would walk into her class in uniform unannounced.
guilty
continues on page 2
Eric Post, 50, has resigned after pleading guilty to five charges involving violence against women. Facebook photo
Lyne and Dave
Open Sunday-Saturday 7am-9pm
3777 Strandherd Dr. Nepean 613-843-9413
SAVE TIME. SHOP ONLINE.
www.yourindependentgrocer.ca