MANDEL: An emotional farewell to an officer and a gentleman

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We owed so much more to that impressive young rookie.  

For the fifth time since September, the Ontario policing community gathered to say goodbye to one of their own — this time, it was OPP Const. Grzegorz (Greg) Pierzchala, killed in the line of duty on the very day he learned he’d passed his 10-month probation.

Just 28, Pierzchala had been responding to a vehicle in a ditch near Hagersville. Who could imagine that such a routine call on an afternoon two days after Christmas would end in an ambush and senseless murder?

In the pouring rain, more than 7,000 officers, relatives and friends gathered in Sadlon Arena, the same Barrie location where another funeral was held just a few months ago for two South Simcoe Police officers who were shot and killed Oct. 11 at an Innisfil home.

It has been a tragic roll call of deaths: Toronto Police Const. Andrew Hong, 48, was fatally shot Sept. 12 and York Regional Police Const. Travis Gillespie, 38, was on his way to work when allegedly killed by an impaired driver on Sept. 14.

“We’ve never lost so many police officers in this province in such a short time,” Lieut. Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell told the sea of blue.

And what a loss this was.  

Pierzchala was an inspirational big brother, an art aficionado, a novice gardener, an enthusiastic, if lousy, dancer, an accomplished athlete skilled in jiu jitsu. But beyond his love for his family, mourners heard his true passion was policing and after years of effort — from the Canadian Armed Forces to working as a special constable at Queen’s Park — the York University psychology grad was finally living his dream.

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“It was what he wanted to do from the time he was five years old,” said an emotional Premier Doug Ford, who has several sons-in-law who are police officers. “It was his calling.”

Michal Pierzchala described a big brother who was fiercely honest and obsessed with excellence, a straight arrow who might have been difficult to live up to — yet his example never ceased to inspire him.

“I remember thinking, ‘Oh, Greg just bought flowers for our mom. After working out for two hours. After finishing a 12-hour shift — I should probably go do something today,'” he said to laughter from the audience.

“Greg was the most courageous person I knew,” he added in a more serious vein. “He was always doing challenging things that he was afraid of. But courage, it’s not about never being afraid; it’s about doing the right thing despite being afraid.

“And really it’s the defining quality of all the police officers who are willing to risk their lives for us every day.”

But it’s exceedingly unfair when the very justice system they serve places them at even more risk than necessary. 

In his fiery eulogy, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique spoke of his “anger and outrage over the senseless and preventable circumstances surrounding Greg’s death.”

Charged with first-degree murder, Randall McKenzie, 25, of Kingston, was out on bail and under a weapons ban at the time of the shooting and a warrant had been issued for his arrest four months earlier after he failed to show up for a court date. Police alleged the officer was “essentially ambushed” by McKenzie and his co-accused Brandi Stewart-Sperry, 30, of Hamilton. 

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Carrique has thousands under his command, but he remembered meeting the promising young recruit during Easter when he was out cycling and stopped to say hello to an officer he spotted in an OPP cruiser by the side of the road.

It turned out Pierzchala was patrolling on his own for the very first time. “He’d just been granted what we at the OPP refer to as his ‘day wings’ — one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking days in every provincial constable’s career.”

Pierzchala asked if they could take a selfie together and his commander happily obliged. “Little did I know that only eight months later, at Christmas no less, our paths would cross again. However, this time, this time sadly, it would be his final tour of duty.”

He must have been flying that day after receiving a glowing final report on completing his probation. Just hours later, a young man of such goodness and promise, an officer and a gentleman, was cut down — allegedly by someone who should have been safely behind bars.

Pierzchala swore to serve and protect us. But what did we do to protect him? 

mmandel@postmedia.com