OPP Commissioner says Pierzchala killing was 'preventable,' as procession brings officer home today
Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Thomas Carrique said the shooting death of OPP Const. Grzegorz (Greg) Pierzchala "should never have happened," as the alleged shooter was out on bail and had a lifetime ban from owning a firearm.
Pierzchala was responding to a black truck in a ditch near Hagersville around 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 27 when he was shot and killed.
Pierzchala is the fourth officer to be killed while on duty in Ontario and the fifth killed in Canada while on the job since mid-September.
A procession is taking Pierzchala home from the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto to Barrie, Ont., on Highway 400, starting at 9 a.m. Friday.
Randall McKenzie, 25, and Brandi Stewart-Speary, 30, are both charged with first-degree murder and remain in custody. They are scheduled for their next hearing on Jan. 17.
McKenzie was given a lifetime ban from possessing firearms in 2018, and had a warrant out for his arrest for previous firearm-related charges at the time of the shooting.
McKenzie 'prohibited for life' from possessing firearms
Carrique told a press conference on Wednesday, "It is my understanding that since 2018, McKenzie has been prohibited for life from possessing any firearm."
McKenzie finished a federal sentence for a May 2017 armed robbery on March 25, 2021. During his sentence, McKenzie was granted statutory release twice, which was revoked both times.
He was released on bail on a number of conditions, which included that he was to remain in his residence and not possess any firearms.
McKenzie failed to appear in court for these charges on Sept. 6, and a warrant was put out for his arrest. The warrant was still active at the time of the shooting.
"The murder of Constable Greg was preventable," said Carrique.
Scott Blandford, a former police officer and professor at Wilfred Laurier University, agrees.
"I agree with the OPP Commissioner, this shouldn't have happened," he said. "In my opinion, this person should not have been released from custody."
But, Blandford added, for violent offenders, a lifetime firearm prohibition "is not worth the paper it's written on," he said.