(Toronto) Hundreds of first responders and citizens participated in a funeral procession on Friday to pay their respects to an Ontario Provincial Police officer who was killed last Tuesday.
The motorcade carrying the body of police officer Greg Pierzchala set off from the coroner’s office in Toronto and ended in his hometown of Barrie about an hour later.
Police and other first responders lined up outside the coroner’s office to greet Constable Pierzchala as the motorcade began.
PHOTO CHRISTOPHER DROST, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Hundreds of people — some civilians, some in uniform — later gathered on the overpasses along Highway 400, raising their hands in respect as the hearse and cruisers passed.
Then, dozens of police officers, including OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique, greeted the motorcade at the Barrie funeral home, where officers carried the casket inside.
Police say Constable Pierzchala was shot in an “ambush” on Tuesday after responding to a call for a vehicle in a ditch west of Hagersville.
Constable Pierzchala had worked for the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) for just over a year and had only just learned, hours before his death, that he had served his 10 month. He was previously a special constable at Queen’s Park; as a child, he dreamed of one day becoming a policeman.
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE PHOTO, PROVIDED TO THE CANADIAN PRESS
Police say Greg Pierzchala responded to a call for a vehicle stuck in a ditch west of Hagersville, southern Ontario, on Tuesday afternoon and was fatally shot with a gunshot wound. to fire in an ambush on his arrival.
Commissioner Carrique said this week that rookie Pierzchala had earned the respect of his colleagues during his short time in the OPP. “They knew they could count on him in the most dangerous and stressful situations. »
Constable Pierzchala’s funeral will be held in Barrie on January 4th. The Ontario Provincial Police will announce more details in the coming days.
A 25-year-old man, Randall McKenzie, and a 30-year-old woman, Brandi Crystal Lyn Stewart-Sperry, are both facing first degree murder charges in connection with the officer’s death.
Court documents indicate that Randall McKenzie was granted bail in connection with another case last June, after initially being denied in December 2021. At that time, he was awaiting trial in Hamilton for a certain number of charges including assault, assault on a peace officer and several firearms offences.
Last August, a judge issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to show up for a scheduled court appearance.
On Thursday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement that a ‘broken bail system’ had led to innocent people losing their lives ‘at the hands of dangerous criminals who should have been behind bars. — not on our streets”.
The OPP commissioner said he was “outraged” on Wednesday that McKenzie was released on bail.
On Friday, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre, urged the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau to “reverse its bail policy”, which dates from 2019.