http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/107744--first-degree-murder-charge-for-suspect-in-police-officer-s-death

The man police allege was behind the wheel of a stolen snowplow that struck and killed Sgt. Ryan Russell has been charged with first-degree murder and is also facing two counts of attempted murder.

Richard Esber Kachkar, 44, formerly of St. Catharines, is recovering in a downtown hospital after he was shot during a police takedown on Keele Street near Humberside Wednesday morning -- the culmination of an alleged three-hour “rampage” through downtown on a stolen snowplow.

The suspect’s uncle, Anwar Kachkar, and cousin in the Edmonton area claim they haven’t spoken with him for several years, according to the Canadian Press. A distant cousin said Kachkar lived in Vancouver before moving to southern Ontario.

"This has been an investigation which has been aided by the availability of video from Sgt. Russell's scout car and from evidence that has been provided by a number of civilian witnesses that stepped forward to us," Chief Bill Blair said Thursday.

"We are grateful for their assistance," Blair added.

Authorities allege the suspect jumped into the vehicle, reportedly bare foot, in the Parliament and Dundas area around 4:15am Wednesday. The plow ran into a taxi and a high-end car dealership on Avenue Road near Davenport, where police said Sgt. Russell was fatally struck while trying to stop it.

Officers, including members of the Emergency Task Force, boxed the snowplow in on Keele Street where it had hit a number of parked vehicles, including a garbage truck. After several attempts to subdue the driver, an officer used a firearm during the arrest.

The province’s Special Investigations Unit is probing the case, as is the Toronto homicide squad.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in Toronto Thursday and, at an unrelated event, offered his thoughts on Russell’s death.