Ottawa police board settles with family over officer who accessed dead child's vaccine records
![Ottawa Police The sign outside Ottawa Police headquarters on Elgin St. is seen in this undated photo. (CTV News Ottawa)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2023/6/12/ottawa-police-1-6437707-1686590508399.jpg)
The Ottawa Police Services Board has settled a case involving a police officer who was accused of wrongfully accessing a deceased child's vaccination status.
The board settled the case for the conduct of Const. Helen Grus, a detective who was accused of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act for asking about the vaccination records related to nine infant and child deaths.
Grus allegedly investigated the records without permission from police.
The Ottawa Police Services Board settled with one of the families whose baby was born and died in June 2021.
Grus allegedly contacted the deceased baby's father on Jan. 30, 2022 to ask about the mother's COVID-19 vaccination status, according to police documents.
After a complaint was filed against Grus with OPS, Grus was suspended with pay on Feb. 4, 2022.
Lawrence Greenspon, the family's lawyer, said the case was settled this week for an undisclosed amount.
""Parents are not put on this earth to bury their children," he told CTV News Ottawa.
"When a tragedy happens, the family's privacy must be respected."
Greenspon said the family would like to thank the Ottawa Police Service for acknowledging their grief and recognizing the importance of privacy.
The police disciplinary hearings against Grus will continue in January.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6972494.1721646739!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
BREAKING Canadian killed near Gaza border after threatening forces with knife: Israeli police
Israeli police say a Canadian citizen was killed Monday after threatening Israeli security forces with a knife near the Gaza border.
Harris looks to lock up Democratic nomination after Biden steps aside, reordering 2024 race
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris moved swiftly to lock up Democratic delegates behind her campaign for the White House after President Joe Biden stepped aside amid concerns from within their own party that he would be unable to defeat Donald Trump.
What to know about the Canadian ties of Kamala Harris, Biden's choice for successor
U.S. President Joe Biden is stepping aside as the Democratic candidate in that country's November election and throwing his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris -- a Montreal-area high school graduate who spent several years in the city.
The pilot who died in crash after releasing skydivers near Niagara Falls has been identified
Officials on Sunday released the name of a pilot who died in a skydiving flight after her passengers jumped from the aircraft near the Niagara Falls.
Markets bet on second Bank of Canada interest rate cut coming this week
Economists and market watchers are betting the Bank of Canada will deliver another interest rate cut this week amid mounting evidence that inflation is sustainably easing.
10,000 unionized employees return to work, stores to reopen Tuesday: LCBO
Workers are back on the job today at Ontario's main liquor retailer, but the Liquor Control Board of Ontario says stores won't be open for business until Tuesday.
Canadian musicians struggle to get visas to perform in the U.S., some cancel shows
Backlogs and processing delays of temporary U.S. visas required by entertainers, athletes and artists has forced some Canadian bands to cancel U.S. tour dates because paperwork wasn't processed in time.
Mom wants quicker reform on disaster preparations, one year after flood took son
The mother of a boy who died a year ago in a Nova Scotia flood says her grief returns daily, along with frustration over what she considers the province's slow pace in reforming its preparations for climate disasters.
Ottawa man waiting nearly a year for car to be fixed at Acura dealership
An Ottawa man says he’s been waiting nearly a year for his car to be repaired after it was damaged during a storm in August.