Sask. police officers’ mental health concerns heightened after death of Ontario officer

Two suspects are being charged with first-degree murder after Ontario Provincial Police officer Greg Pierzchala of Hagersville, Ont., was shot Tuesday while responding to a vehicle in a ditch.

“It’s causing our officers a bunch of mental health issues,” said Casey Ward, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Police. “You’re just wondering every day when you show up and put on your uniform, are you going to be going home to your family?

“There’s been a lot of officers killed in the line of duty in the last six months and it’s just a trend we need to see stop.”

Pierzchala is the fifth officer in Canada to be killed in the line of duty since September.

Ward said he is lucky to never have lost a fellow officer during his time of duty, but he still recognizes and mourns officer deaths of those across the province.

“There’s been way too many police funerals,” said Ward. “It reiterates that every day you go out and you don’t know what’s going to happen.

“I think it’s starting to cause issues with some of our police officers, especially with their mental health. Just the levels of violence we are seeing with our officers across Canada and within our province, not just with police shootings but with assaults on police officers.”

Court documents show that Randall McKenzie, 25, and Brandi Crystal Lyn Stewart-Sperry, 30, are those accused.