Funeral for slain OPP officer to be livestreamed, with family, police in attendance

THE CANADIAN PRESS

The funeral for the Ontario Provincial Police officer killed last week is set to be held Wednesday morning at an arena in his hometown of Barrie, Ont. 

The OPP says the private service for 28-year-old Const. Grzegorz (Greg) Pierzchala will start at 11 a.m. at the Sadlon Arena.

His family and their guests will be joined by members of the OPP, other police services and Canadian Armed Forces members, along with other emergency services personnel and officials. 

The funeral is not open to the public, but an in-person broadcast of the funeral is expected to be held at the Caledonia Lions Hall in Haldimand County, where Pierzchala was based with the OPP. 

Pierzchala, a former constable at the provincial legislature and member of the Armed Forces, was killed in what police have called an “ambush” attack after he responded to a call for a vehicle in a ditch west of Hagersville, Ont. on Dec. 27. 

Twenty-five-year-old Randall McKenzie and 30-year-old Brandi Crystal Lyn Stewart-Sperry each face a charge of first-degree murder in his death.