Police procession underway for slain OPP officer

A police procession is underway for Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Const. Grzegorz “Greg” Pierzchala who was killed earlier this week near Hagersville, Ont.

The procession departed from the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto at 9:00 a.m. and is travelling northbound on Highway 400 to a funeral home in Barrie.

Members of the public are invited to show their respects from one of the many overpasses along the highway.

A police funeral for Pierzchala will be held in Barrie on Jan. 4. The OPP said details will be announced once they have been finalized.

Pierzchala, 28, was shot to death Tuesday afternoon when responding to a call about a vehicle in a ditch near Hagersville, Ont.

Two suspects allegedly stole a vehicle to flee the scene. They later ditched that vehicle and fled the scene on foot, but officers were able to track and arrest them nearby.

Randall McKenzie, 25, from the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation and Brandi Stewart-Sperry, 30, from Hamilton, have both been charged with first-degree murder.

McKenzie and Stewart-Sperry appeared in a Cayuga court on Wednesday afternoon via video. They are both due back in court on Jan. 17.

Prior to his death, Pierzchala had been with the OPP for over a year. At the start of his shift on Tuesday, he had been notified of the successful completion of his 10-month probationary period with the force.