Ottawa police say they arrested a man after a WWII veteran was robbed. (Photo credit should read JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images) | JOEL SAGET via Getty Images
OTTAWA - The Prime Minister is praising police in Ottawa for swiftly making an arrest in connection with a home invasion that saw a 101-year-old veteran of D-Day tied up and robbed.
Stephen Harper tweeted a thank you Saturday afternoon to police for "their swift work" as well as to members of the public who provided tips that led to the arrest.
Police say a 59-year-old suspect was arrested Friday night after investigators received a tip earlier that day.
The suspect faces a string of charges including attempted murder, robbery with violence, forcible confinement, break and enter and using a credit card obtained by crime.
Police say a man posing as a city employee forced his way into the veteran's condo on Thursday morning before making off with undisclosed items.
Police have not identified the victim, but Harper and Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino have said he is Ernest Cote, one of the Canadian soldiers who landed on Juno Beach on June 6,1944.
Fantino, a former police officer, took to Twitter on Saturday to thank investigators for making an arrest in connection with "such a despicable crime."
In a statement released on Thursday Fantino said he travelled with Cote earlier this year to attend D-Day anniversary services and was honoured to know him.
The accused appeared in court Saturday but police weren't identifying him because they are actively investigating several leads from the public that came in after images of the suspect were released, Staff Sgt. Michael Haarbosch said Saturday.
The case, which has drawn national attention and outrage online, spurred up to 10 additional tips, Haarbosch said.
"There were other tips from the public and each and every one of those has to be followed up on," he said.
"The investigation... at this point, even though charges have been laid, is still in the early stages and there's a lot of work to be done still."
Commentary by the Ottawa Mens Centre
The Ottawa Police have their own "Restorative Justice" program. They simply Fabricate Evidence NOT to charge Violent Dentistry Students and to engage in malicious prosecutions of Male Victims of domestic Violence.
A classic example is that of Ottawa Police Detective Peter Van Der Zander who fabricated Evidence NOT to charge a Dentistry Student for attempting to strangle to death the father of their children.
The attending officers and a witness noted that the father was bleeding around the neck with scratch marks around his neck, consistent with an attempt to strangle. His bruises were rather a spectacular colour of blue and purple with circles indicating finger pressure. The Father described that after years of habitual unprovoked violence towards the children and father, that he was forced to call police because she had forced his head on to a couch by pulling his hair, and had placed a strangle hold around his neck that prevented him from breathing.
Detective Van Der Zander also listened to a stereo audio recording of the entire event that was stopped after the police arrived and taken by the police so it could not have been "edited".
Van Der Zander Fabricated an Occurrence report that the Female Dentistry Student "denied pulling his hair and attempting to choke him" He expressed a concern that IF he let her go without charges that "next time" she might kill him with a knife" so he released her so she could "call police" next time.
He sent her home with a "victim support" person, a free taxi reserved by the Ottawa Police for women who attempt to strangle the full time fathers of their children.
The Video Recording of Van Der Zander's Interview showed that Van Der Zander never asked her if she "pulled his hair and attempted to choke him". His occurrence report
claimed her assaults were"a reflex action" however not one of the several claimed expressions that Van Der Zander Claimed he "heard" on the recording did in fact exist. His report was obviously Fabricated to justify his Obstruct Justice and Fabrication of Evidence.
He then kept the father incarcerated for a further 16 hours and AFTER he released the mother, he finally interviewed the father, failed to photograph any of his injuries and interrogated him accusing him of being a pedophile without any such allegation or evidence to justify that terrorism.
Several months later she assaulted her new male partner with a Strangle Hold to the neck, "with her hands around his neck and her thumbs intertwined around his neck" saying " My Father was KBG, I know what I am doing". When that male reported the assault to Ottawa Police they did absolutely nothing. When she learned of his statement, she threatened him with false allegations which was in turn reported to the Ottawa Police who did absolutely nothing.
Ottawa Mens Centre