Ontario Provincial Police Constable Grzegorz Pierzchala is shown in this undated handout photo. Ontario Provincial Police say two suspects have been arrested after Constable Pierzchala was shot and killed while on duty near Hagersville, Ont. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, OPP *MANDATORY CREDIT*
HAGERSVILLE, Ont. – The killing of an on-duty Ontario Provincial Police officer is both heartbreaking and disturbing, says the mayor of the small rural community where the shooting took place.
The OPP were expected to announce charges Wednesday after they say Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala was gunned down Tuesday afternoon while responding to a vehicle in a ditch just west of Hagersville, Ont.
Haldimand County Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley visited the scene Wednesday along with other community members to pay tribute to the 28-year-old officer.
“It is heartbreaking, disturbing, very upsetting for our community,” she said. “These things just don’t happen in Haldimand County.”
Harold Sheldrick, who lives close to the scene, said he was surprised to hear about the fatal shooting in the “peaceful area.”
“Sure, there is crime just like anywhere but, I mean, out here it is the first time I have heard someone getting shot and killed,” said Sheldrick, who has lived in the area for about a year.
“A lot of these families know each other, so I am kind of surprised something would escalate this far out here.”
Pierzchala had been with the OPP for just over a year, Commissioner Thomas Carrique said. Earlier Tuesday, Pierzchala had been notified that he had passed his 10-month probation period.
The officer was previously a special constable at Queen’s Park who, as a boy, dreamt of joining the police ranks, the commissioner said.
The OPP said two suspects, a 25-year-old male and a 30-year-old female, were arrested and no other suspects are at large.
At a news conference Tuesday, Carrique said the OPP expected to announce charges Wednesday.
Provincial police had issued an emergency alert just before 6 p.m., hours after the reported shooting around 2:30 p.m., advising all area residents to remain in place. The alert was cancelled shortly after that, when the suspects were arrested.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 28, 2022.
