Funeral for slain OPP officer Grzegorz Pierzchala is Wednesday. Here are the details | 24CA News
Ontario Provincial Police introduced the funeral for Const. Grzegorz (Greg) Pierzchala, the 28-year-old killed Dec. 27 whereas responding to a automobile in a ditch close to Hagersville, Ont., can be held Wednesday.
The funeral at Barrie’s Sadlon Arena begins at 11 a.m. ET. The visitation, mass and internment can be personal, however members of the general public can watch the service through livestream, which begins at 10:30 a.m., on the OPP’s essential social media accounts.
The funeral plans had been introduced Monday as police proceed to analyze the circumstances surrounding Pierzchala’s loss of life. Randall McKenzie, 25, and Brandi Stewart-Sperry, 30, have been charged with first-degree homicide.
In Haldimand County, the Caledonia Lions Hall will provide an in-person broadcast of the funeral, with doorways opening at 10:30 a.m., for group members to mourn the lack of the officer.
OPP spokesperson Bill Dickson mentioned the police service estimates 1000’s — principally officers and first responders — will attend the funeral.
“We do expect thousands and thousands of police officers from not only Ontario, but from elsewhere to gather to say goodbye to an officer, but to also help celebrate the life of a young police officer,” Dickson mentioned.
In Barrie, the general public is welcome to attend the procession to the world. Procession route info can be launched by the OPP on Tuesday.
Pierzchala had been residing and dealing in Haldimand County for 10 months when he was killed. The taking pictures in Hagersville, about 45 kilometres southwest of Hamilton, has led to an outpouring of group help for his household and the Haldimand OPP.
“It’s a horrible experience, a horrible time for everyone, but the support has been just phenomenal,” Dickson mentioned.
Haldimand Mayor Shelley Bentley expressed her condolences to Pierzchala’s household, associates and colleagues in a press release, and mentioned the group wants to return collectively to grieve.
“Haldimand County is a close-knit community and many are feeling this loss deeply,” she mentioned. “Joining in remembrance at the local level is a way that we can come together as a community to grieve and honour a hero taken much too soon.”
Calls for bail system reform
At a news convention Friday morning, federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre prolonged condolences to Pierzchala’s family members, and mentioned the case demonstrates the federal government must take a totally different strategy to bail.
During his life, McKenzie had been charged and convicted for numerous violent offences, together with armed theft.
McKenzie was granted bail in December 2021 on costs of possessing firearms and assaulting a police officer. He had an energetic warrant out for his arrest on the time of Pierzchala’s killing and was additionally banned from possessing firearms.
“Conservatives are calling on the Trudeau government to reverse its catch-and-release bail policy,” Poilievre mentioned.
WATCH | Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino speaks about gun crimes:
‘Clearly, the system didn’t work right here,’ federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino mentioned after the taking pictures loss of life of OPP Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala on Dec. 27, including that the Liberal authorities is dedicated to a ‘complete plan’ to handle gun crime.
Poilievre mentioned the federal government, underneath Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, ought to change how usually bail is granted by making certain repeat violent offenders are detained till “it can be assured to all of us that they are no longer a danger to the public.”
Poilievre pointed to Bill C-75, a authorities invoice handed in 2019. The regulation accommodates a “principle of restraint,” emphasizing police and courts that favour “release at the earliest opportunity” over detention.
Additionally, the regulation requires “that the circumstances of Indigenous accused and of accused from vulnerable populations are considered at bail.” However, Crystal Winchester, a Haudenosaunee legal justice employee, advised CBC Hamilton final week that Indigenous women and men proceed to get bail and conditional sentences “less frequently than the rest of the population.”
On Friday, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino mentioned, “Clearly the system did not work here,” referring to McKenzie’s early launch and the next taking pictures.
Mendicino mentioned he’s dedicated to working with regulation enforcement, the provinces and the territories to ensure bail system reforms are pushed ahead, “so that we can prevent tragedies like this from ever occurring again.”
“We have a comprehensive plan, which includes putting forward responsible gun controls, including Bill C-21, which would raise the maximum sentences against serious gun and violent offenders to deter them,” he mentioned.
“We’ve got to stop gun violence from occurring in the first place.”
Pierzchala sporting a physique cam throughout taking pictures
“We’re not really talking about the investigation [into Pierzchala’s death] this week just because we’re focused on saying goodbye to an officer who was murdered,” Dickson mentioned.
He confirmed to CBC Hamilton that Pierzchala was sporting a physique digicam throughout the taking pictures, as a part of an OPP program that began May 18, 2021.
Traffic enforcement, emergency response officers and uniformed officers with the OPP’s Haldimand detachment put on the physique cameras and are required to tell the general public that they’re recording.
Last week, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique mentioned officers had been going door to door, asking individuals in the event that they witnessed something associated to the taking pictures. Dickson additionally had a message for individuals in Haldimand County.
“If anyone in the area, if they haven’t spoken to police and they have any information, I would encourage them to actually proactively reach out to the OPP,” he mentioned.
