New details on cop who survived stabbing, other charges against accused

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SARNIA – The identity of the veteran Sarnia police officer repeatedly stabbed in the head and neck during a welfare check has been revealed by court documents, which also show the man charged with attempted murder is facing charges in another city.

Ryan Whiteway, 36, of Sarnia, has been charged with attempted murder in the stabbing of Const. Karl Brown, records show, and he’s also been charged with breaching an undertaking for allegedly not telling police in Guelph his address had changed. Whiteway’s address is unit 1504 at 155 Front St. N, the records say.

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That’s the Seaway Centre apartment building to which police were called on Tuesday around 10:30 p.m. about a man in distress. Officers went inside where a man emerged from a concealed location armed with an edged weapon and attacked them, police said.

A 37-year-old constable, who wasn’t identified but court records say is Brown, was stabbed multiple times in the head, neck, and arms, sustaining serious injuries, police said. The 13-year veteran officer was taken to Bluewater Health and later to London Health Sciences Centre, where he needed several units of blood and plasma and dozens of stitches to close wounds to his right arm, right temple, under his right eye, trapezius, back, and hand.

Police said Thursday the officer has been released from hospital but needs ongoing medical care to assess any nerve damage and long-term ramifications.

Whiteway was due back in court Friday. He was confrontational with court staff, mentioned self-defence, and complained of injuries during his initial appearance in bail court Wednesday afternoon, which wasn’t covered by a publication ban.

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Justice of the peace Debra Isaac asked him if he knows with what he’s charged.

“I’m trying to comprehend it in a break-in, self-defence perspective,” he replied while standing in the prisoner’s box wearing an orange jumpsuit below his long hair and beard.

The clerk formally read both charges to him.

“It was a break-in self-defence and I didn’t know anything about any of that there,” Whiteway said after she finished.

He also said he was beat up.

“I was assaulted by government thugs repeatedly during this,” he said.

Whiteway was told while he’s in jail he’s banned from contacting Simon Sowinski. Whiteway asked who that person was and if it was a joke.

“Who’s Simon? Simon says?” he said before being led out of court. “I’ve never known an individual named Simon.”

Whiteway was told Sowinski may be a witness, but either way if he doesn’t know who that person is it should be easy not to talk to them.

A property manager at Seaway Centre Condominiums, who didn’t want to be identified, previously confirmed Whiteway is a tenant there and lived by himself on the 15^th floor. She said there were concerns about his mental health and about him returning to the building if he gets bail.

“We don’t want him back here,” she said.

A Guelph police spokesperson said Thursday they can’t comment on any charges Whiteway is facing there due to privacy concerns. Guelph court staff didn’t respond by press time Thursday to a request for information about his charges there.

tbridge@postmedia.com

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