It’s outrageous that the man accused of gunning down Ontario Provincial Police Const. Grzegorz “Greg” Pierzchala, 28, was out on bail awaiting trial on a dozen criminal offences.
Randall McKenzie, 25, of Kingston, was released on bail on June 27, after spending almost six months in pre-trial custody.
As reported by Sun Media, McKenzie had been arrested on Dec. 1, 2021 and charged with a dozen offences, including assault with a weapon, assaulting a peace officer, assault, possession of a firearm without a licence, carrying a concealed weapon, mischief and possession of counterfeit money.
According to OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique, McKenzie’s bail conditions confined him to his home and there was a warrant out for his arrest after he failed to show up in court in September in relation to the earlier charges.
He added that McKenzie had been banned for life from possessing firearms in 2018, following a robbery and weapons conviction.
“I’m outraged,” Carrique said. “I’m outraged by the fact that McKenzie was out on bail and was provided the opportunity to (allegedly) take the life of an innocent officer. I know that there is a lot of interest to see changes are made to ensure — where possible — people who are charged with violence offences … are not in those positions going forward.”
None of the allegations against McKenzie, now charged with first-degree murder of the rookie police officer in Hagersville, Ont., along with co-accused Brandi Crystal Lyn Stewart-Sperry, 30, of Hamilton, have been proven in court and it will be up to the court to determine their guilt or innocence.
But the fact McKenzie was out on bail awaiting trial for multiple violent offences when he was accused of murdering a police officer, while outrageous, does not mean it was surprising.
Easy bail for those accused of violent crimes happens all the time across Canada because our bail system is broken.
What happened in this case happens over and over again, no matter how many times tragedies like this occur, because federal and provincial governments are not treating the protection of the public as a priority in our criminal justice system.
How many more avoidable deaths like this one will have to occur before they start taking this issue seriously?
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