Ryan Russell’s family ‘paralyzed by sadness’

The wife and family of Ryan Russell revealed their pain after Richard Kachkar was found not criminally responsible for the Toronto police officer’s death on Wednesday.

A jury agreed with defence lawyers that Kachkar, 46, was mentally ill when he struck Russell, 35, with a snowplow on Jan. 12, 2011.

“I imagine like most people that everyone is very disappointed, that we’re heartbroken,” Russell’s widow Christine said outside the University Avenue courthouse.

“I believe Ryan deserved a lot better than this … He was killed by this man and nothing changes that fact.”

Christine Russell said because Kachkar was found not criminally responsible, she would be fighting for the rest of her life to make sure he’s never released.

“There is zero closure,” she said. “There is no healing. There is no closure. There is no end.”

Russell said she supports the proposed Bill C-54, which could lead to Kachkar being labelled high-risk. His release would then have to be decided by a judge instead of a review board.

Moments earlier, Russell’s family read emotional victim-impact statements to the court.

“You have no idea how you smashed our family to pieces,” Russell’s father Glenn, a retired Toronto officer, told Kachkar.

“You killed a father who was the centre of his son’s universe.”

Russell’s sister Tracy said she is “paralyzed by sadness” and suffers from depression.

“I need my brother to talk to,” she said. “It’s been two years. This pain is part of our life now.”

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