Hundreds of first responders and members of the public turned out Friday for a procession to pay tribute to a slain Ontario Provincial Police officer as calls grew for the federal government to reform its bail policy.
The procession for an OPP cop shot dead carrying 28-year-old Const. Greg Pierzchala‘s body started at the coroner’s office in Toronto and ended in his hometown of Barrie, Ont., about an hour later.
Police officers and other first responders lined up outside the coroner’s office to salute Pierzchala as the procession started.
Hundreds of people — some civilians, some in uniform — packed onto overpasses along Highway 400, raising their hands as a sign of respect, as the hearse and police cars with flashing lights passed by.
Dozens of officers, including Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Thomas Carrique, were at the funeral home in Barrie when the procession arrived and a number of officers carried Pierzchala’s coffin inside as their colleagues saluted him.
Police have said Pierzchala was shot dead in an “ambush” attack earlier this week after he responded to a call for a vehicle in a ditch west of Hagersville, Ont.
Pierzchala had been with the OPP for just over a year and he had been notified that he had passed his 10-month probation period hours before his death. He was previously a special constable at Queen’s Park who, as a boy, dreamt of joining the police ranks.
Carrique has said Pierzchala gained his colleagues’ respect during his short time on the force.
“They knew they could rely upon him in the most dangerous and stressful of situations,” he said at a news conference this week.
Insp. Phil Carter, the OPP’s detachment commander for Haldimand County, has called Pierzchala’s death a “crushing loss.”
“It has been an unimaginable and heartbreaking loss for our officers that worked alongside provincial Const. Greg Pierzchala. He was a son, a brother and a friend,” he said at a news conference.
“He is no longer with us and that hurts.”
Pierzchala’s funeral will be held in Barrie on Jan. 4. The OPP is to announce more details in the coming days.
Randall McKenzie, 25, and Brandi Crystal Lyn Stewart-Sperry, 30, each face a charge of first-degree murder in his death.
Court documents show McKenzie had been initially denied bail, and was later granted it upon review, months before Tuesday’s shooting in a separate case involving a number of assault and weapons-related charges.
A warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to show up for a court date in August, the documents show.
Calls have emerged in recent days for the federal government to reform bail policy in Canada.
On Friday, Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre urged the Trudeau government to “reverse its catch and release bail policy” — referring to Bill C-75, a law passed by the Liberals in 2019 to update bail provisions in the Criminal Code by instructing police and judges to use a “principle of restraint” for bail.
The law gave courts and police more powers to put restrictions on people accused of crimes, so long as they promised to appear in court.
“What we need to do instead is keep the small number of repeat habitual violent offenders behind bars and when they are newly arrested, deny them bail until such time as their trials are completed,” Poilievre said.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, the OPP commissioner said he was “outraged” that McKenzie had been out on bail.
“I know there’s a lot of interest to see that changes are made to ensure, where possible, people who are charged with violent offences that are firearms related are not in those positions moving forward,” Carrique said during a news conference.
On Thursday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement that a “failed 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.”
“Enough is enough. More must be done to fix a system that is far too often sacrificing the safety of our public and police officers instead of cracking down on the perpetrators who repeatedly commit these heinous crimes.”
But Shawn King, vice-president of the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association, said there is no need for the federal government’s bail policy to be reformed.
“The underlying issue that really needs to be addressed here is not changing the bail policies, it’s trying to deal with the underlying conditions that cause these people to offend,” he said.
According to court documents, McKenzie has a history of addiction and pleaded guilty to an armed robbery in 2017, saying he needed money for drugs.
Providing support for offenders who are struggling with addiction would be more efficient than keeping them behind bars, King said.
In part meant to reduce the overrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples in Canadian jails, Bill C-75 requires courts to consider the circumstances of accused individuals from vulnerable populations when deciding whether bail should be granted.
Court documents do not indicate why McKenzie was granted bail, but say that he is from the Onondaga First Nations of the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and has experienced the negative impacts of colonialism.
Procession for OPP cop shot dead.
– With files from David Fraser
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 30, 2022.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.
The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.
McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.
The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.
The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.
San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.
BRUSSELS – Canada walked away with some hardware at the Diamond League track and field competition Saturday.
Alysha Newman finished third in women’s pole vault, while Marco Arop did the same in the men’s 800-metre race.
Newman won a bronze medal in her event at the recent Paris Olympics. Arop grabbed silver at the same distance in France last month.
Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who captured gold at the Summer Games, again finished atop the podium. Sandi Morris of the United States was second.
Newman set a national record when she secured Canada’s first-ever pole vault medal with a bronze at the Olympics with a height of 4.85 metres. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.80 metres in her second attempt Saturday, but was unable conquer 4.88 metres on three attempts.
Arop, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, finished the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute 43.25 seconds. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya was first with a time of 1:42.70.
Djamel Sedjati, edged out by Arop for silver in Paris last month, was second 1:42.87
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.
Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.
Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.
AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.
Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.
Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.
Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.
Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.
Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.
Unbeaten sides
Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.
Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.
On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.
Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.
The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.
Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
