Accused of killing Ontario police officer was abusing drugs

The family of one of the two suspects accused of shooting an Ontario police officer to death expressed their condolences to the officer's family.

In a written statement the family of Randall McKenzie expressed their condolences to the family of the deceased Const. Grzegorz "Greg" Pierzchala and wished them healing and peace.

They further reported that McKenzie had been in trouble since he was a teenager, got in with the wrong crowd in high school and began abusing drugs at a young age.

McKenzie's family said they have been bombarded with hate messages since the shooting. The statement said they call them "savages, trash and disgusting and that we should rot."

McKenzie, 25, and Brandi Crystal Lyn Stewart-Sperry, 30, face first-degree murder charges in the death of Pierzchala, who was responding to a vehicle in a ditch west of Hagersville, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon. when he was fatally shot.

Police reported that McKenzie was under a lifetime firearms ban and had been charged in 2021 with several firearms offenses and assaulting a peace officer.

A warrant was issued for this arrest and additional charges were filed after he failed to appear in court in September.

In frustration, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said Pierzchala's death should not have happened because the accused should never have been at large after amassing a long record of violent crimes:

Officer Greg's murder was preventable, this should never have happened, something must change, our police officers, your police officers and the public deserve to be safe from criminals who have already been charged with violent gun violence. I am outraged that McKenzie made bail and had the opportunity to take the life of an innocent officer. I know there are many who are interested in seeing the necessary changes made to prevent people who have already been charged with violent firearms offenses from being able to continue to do so.

Court documents show McKenzie had a history with the justice system.

A 2021 document from the Parole Board of Canada says McKenzie is from the Onondaga First Nations of the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. He was serving a nearly three-year sentence for robbery, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon and other charges when his release was revoked that year because he was not complying with his terms.

In the robbery, which occurred in 2017, the document describes how McKenzie pointed a gun at a restaurant owner and ordered him to hand over his car keys and money.