One of two suspects in Tuesday’s murder of Constable Grzegorz Pierzchala in Hagersville, Ontario, was on a lifetime gun ban and was charged with assaulting a police officer last year.
• Also read: Ontario police officer shot dead: Two suspects charged with first-degree murder
• Also read: Here are the least smart villains of 2022
• Also read: Police officer killed in Ontario: The drama shakes the whole country
Randall McKenzie, a 25-year-old Mississauga man from the Credit First Nation, had previously been banned for life from firearm possession during a 2018 clash with the law. That didn’t stop him from being arrested again in 2021 and facing multiple firearms charges in addition to one count of assaulting a police officer.
The suspect, charged with first-degree murder, remained on probation until last September when he failed to appear in court to answer charges received in 2021. He was the subject of an arrest warrant when he and sidekick Brandi Stewart-Sperry, a 30-year-old year-old Hamilton resident, crossed paths with Constable Pierzchala.
ambush
OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique didn’t mince his words in providing the media update.
“I’m outraged that McKenzie’s conditional release gave him the opportunity to take the life of an innocent police officer,” said the senior provincial police chief.
Mr Carrique has called for changes to probation conditions to allow suspects charged with violent or weapons crimes to remain behind bars.
Grzegorz Pierzchala was on his first ever solo patrol when he was called to respond to a vehicle that went off the road and ended up in a ditch. He was attacked by the suspects when he arrived without having the slightest chance to defend himself, the commissioner said and spoke of an “ambush”.
The officer wore a body camera, which will certainly help advance the investigation, Carrique said, adding that the motives that led the suspects to open fire remain unclear.
The two suspects were arrested shortly after the police officer’s killing without incident. They appeared formally charged on Wednesday and will return to court on January 17.
In addition, the agent’s colleagues will pay tribute to him with a parade on Highway 400 between Toronto and Barrie starting at 9 a.m. on Friday. The population is invited to stand on the viaducts spanning the expressway to watch the convoy and pay homage to Grzegorz Pierzchala.