‘Everyone seems to be fed up. A Conservative authorities goes to reform the bail system (at the moment) in place,’ says Shipley; OPPA additionally calling for ‘decisive motion’ from authorities
Past the disappointment of a younger officer being killed within the line of obligation, Barrie-Innisfil MP John Brassard tells a narrative concerning the day he attended the procession for Ontario Provincial Police Const. Greg Pierzchala, who grew up right here within the metropolis.
Brassard remembers he was pulled apart that day by one other OPP officer who confirmed him an image of an unlawful, modified gun that the officer had seized from a automobile close to Orillia not lengthy earlier than Pierzchala’s funeral in Barrie in January 2023.
“The (accused) was out on bail later that day,” Brassard advised BarrieToday.
The story is telling, and particularly tragic, as a result of one of many accused in Pierzchala’s loss of life, Randall Mackenzie, was out on bail, dwelling below strict situations and was the topic to a lifetime weapons ban. The case stays earlier than the courts.
Pierzchala, 28, grew up in Barrie and was a former standout athlete earlier than embarking on a profession in policing. He had simply progressed via his probationary OPP interval at his detachment in southwest Ontario.
Pierzchala was shot deceased after attending a name for a automobile that had gone into the ditch two days after Christmas in 2022. It was Pierzchala’s first solo name as a daily officer.
The Ontario Provincial Police Affiliation (OPPA), which relies on Ferris Lane in Barrie, lately issued a name for harder bail situations for these accused of violent offences.
Mackenzie had been granted bail after being charged with weapons offences six months previous to Pierzchala’s loss of life. He is in jail awaiting trial on a first-degree homicide cost in Pierzchala’s loss of life.
“We call on the federal government to take immediate, decisive action to bolster community safety by reforming bail laws to prevent repeat offenders from returning to our streets,” OPPA president John Cerasuolo stated in a information launch, including it’s vital for adjustments to be made to revive the general public’s religion within the justice system.
Cerasuolo was unavailable for an interview when BarrieToday contacted the OPPA.
OPP Const. Greg Pierzchala, who grew up in Barrie, was killed within the line of obligation on Dec. 27, 2022. He was 28 years previous. | Picture provided
Brassard, echoing remarks made by Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MP Doug Shipley, stated the principle trigger is to the present state of affairs is Invoice C-75, which each of the native Conservative MPs stated makes it a lot simpler for folks with legal data who’re accused of violent crimes to be launched on bail.
“Criminals are unafraid,” Brassard stated in a telephone interview.
For his half, Shipley, who serves on the general public security committee in Ottawa, voiced the same chorus.
“Everyone is fed up,” stated Shipley. “A Conservative authorities goes to reform the bail system (at the moment) in place.”
There are different current circumstances each regionally and farther afield which have introduced the problem into focus, even after Pierzchala’s loss of life.
Final week, Nick Vassilodimitrakis pleaded responsible in a case that noticed Barrie police officer Jim Peters minimize with an edged weapon whereas making an arrest at a McDonald’s restaurant on Bayfield Avenue in late September.
Vassilodimitrakis had an extended legal report and was on probation on the time.
He was sentenced to 18 months, however was credited for 71 days. Notably, he had been denied bail in that case.
Talking earlier than Vassilodimitrakis pleaded responsible, Shipley made the incident a central a part of his remarks on the ground of the Home of Commons in Ottawa, as a result of he stated Vassilodimitrakis “should not have been out in the first place.”
A current shootout in Toronto resulted within the arrest of 23 people in a neighbourhood not recognized for gun violence – it’s close to the place followers collect earlier than and after soccer and soccer matches at BMO Subject. It turned out {that a} handful of these arrested in that case had been out on bail. One other, a youth, was needed on homicide charges.
Quoting from a federal government-issued report, Brassard stated 256 folks had been killed in Canada in 2022, the final 12 months from which statistics had been out there, by “people out on bail or some other form of release.”
That physique rely has elevated progressively year-over-year since 2019 and accounts for between 1 / 4 and one-third of all homicides in Canada that happened throughout 2022, in response to the report Brassard was quoting.
Citing Invoice C-75 that was handed in 2019 because the chief trigger, Brassard, like Shipley, was clear in his place now and what a future Conservative authorities, if elected, would do.
“The bail system has completely failed … and blame goes to where it lies, Bill C-75 and, to a degree, C-5,” stated Shipley, citing one other piece of laws that did away with necessary minimal sentences for these convicted of crimes involving weapons.
“We will repeal them both,” he added, referring to each C-5 and C-75.
In September, a park in Barrie’s south finish was renamed in honour of Pierzchala. It is positioned throughout from St. Joan of Arc Catholic Excessive Faculty on Mapleton Avenue. Pierzchala usually used Batteaux Park, positioned at 443 Mapleton Ave., to coach.
In his reminiscence, a brand new health circuit has additionally been put in on the park, impressed by the Ontario Police Faculty health check.
Grzegorz “Greg” Pierzchala Park is positioned on Mapleton Avenue, throughout from St. Joan of Arc Catholic Excessive Faculty, in south-end Barrie. | Raymond Bowe/BarrieToday information
