Haldimand wants to honor the fallen OPP officer by renaming the Cayuga Bridge

Haldimand County Council wants to secure the name of Const. Grzegorz “Greg” Pierzchala is never forgotten.

At a recent meeting, councilors voted to begin discussions with the province about naming the Cayuga Bridge after Pierzchala, an OPP officer who was killed in the line of duty just after Christmas .

“I thought it was fitting that being a young bridge and a young officer, they would merge and (we have) the opportunity here to honor this outstanding officer, as young as he was,” said Coun. John Metcalfe, who presented the motion at the council meeting in committee on May 23.

“I just felt it was an opportunity to permanently recognize his service and dedication to the county,” Metcalfe said.

The motion, which passed unanimously, directs county staff to begin the process as detailed in the Ministry of Transportation’s Road Memorial Act for Fallen Police Officers.

This process includes consultation with the OPP and Pierzchala’s family.

The final decision on the name change of the bridge rests with the province.

Pierzchala, 28, was shot and killed Dec. 27 while responding to a vehicle in a ditch west of Hagersville.

Two suspects — Brandi Stewart-Sperry, 30, of Hamilton, and Randall McKenzie, 25, of Mississaugas, Credit First Nation — were arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

The rookie officer had just passed his probationary period and was on his first solo shift when he was killed.

Immediately after Pierzchala’s death, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique lamented “the sudden and horrific loss of this young officer.”

“Greg had just embarked on his childhood dream of being a police officer, only to have it cut tragically short in the line of duty,” Carrique said.

In April, a memorial bike ride in the Dunnville area organized by the OPP and Pierzchala’s family raised more than $11,000 for the OPP Youth Foundation.

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