‘Outraged’: Ontario’s top cop demands bail change after officer’s killing

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CAYUGA – Saying he is “outraged” over the shooting death of a rookie police officer, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique is calling for changes he says will better protect law enforcement and broader communities.

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Carrique told a news conference late Wednesday night at the Cayuga OPP detachment that his anger is largely due to the fact that the man accused of killing Const. Grzegorz (Greg) Pierzchala was out on bail on criminal charges, including assaulting a police officer.

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Randall McKenzie, 25, of Kingston and girlfriend Brandi Crystal Lyn Stewart-Sperry, 30, of Hamilton appeared in a Cayuga court Wednesday, charged with first-degree murder.

“I’m outraged by the fact that McKenzie was out on bail and had the opportunity to take the life of an innocent officer,” Carrique said. “I know that there is a lot of interest in ensuring that, to see that changes are made, where possible, so that people charged with violent offences that are firearms-related are not in that position moving forward.”

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Carrique said that in 2018 McKenzie was prohibited for life of possessing any firearms. In 2021, McKenzie was charged with several firearm-related offences and assaulting a peace officer.

Pierzchala, 28, was shot and killed while responding to a call about a car in a ditch along Indian Line Road, just west of Hagersville, at about 2:40 p.m. Tuesday. He was transported to West Haldimand General Hospital in Hagersville, where he died.

OPP officers will escort Pierzchala’s body as it is brought back to his hometown of Barrie on Friday, the force said Thursday. The procession will leave the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto at 9 a.m. and travel north on Highway 400 to Barrie.

“Members of the public are invited join first responders in showing their respects from one of the many overpasses along the highway,” the force said, requesting people not to stop on the highway to get out of their vehicles because it’s unsafe to do so.

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The OPP said it will livestream the procession on Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.

A police funeral for Pierzchala will be held Wednesday, Jan. 4 with more details to be announced later, the OPP said.

Both McKenzie and Stewart-Sperry are in custody. They are to make their next virtual court appearance on Jan. 17.

The suspects fled after the shooting, police say.

Police arrested Stewart-Sperry in a bush area near Mississauga Road, Ojibwe Road and Highway 6 South. Police later arrested McKenzie.

McKenzie’s bail carried a number of conditions, including that he remain in his home and not possess any firearm, Carrique said. When McKenzie failed to show up for court in September, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

“Needless to say the (death) of Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala was preventable,” Carrique said. “This should have never happened. Something needs to change.”

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Police officers and the public deserve to be safeguarded against violent offenders who are charged with firearms-related offences, he said.

Officers from the OPP’s criminal investigations branch will be going door-to-door to gather more evidence, Carrique said.

Details about funeral arrangements for Pierzchala are expected to be made public in the next few days.

Carrique said the officer’s family has asked for privacy.

Flags at the Cayuga detachment were at half-staff. Flowers have been delivered to the detachment in memory of the slain officer.

Pierzchala is the fifth Ontario police officer to die in the line of duty since September. He is the first OPP officer killed on duty in Southwestern Ontario since March, 8, 2010, when Const. Vu Pham, 37, died in a shootout on a rural road east of Clinton.

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