Toronto police salute fallen officer at procession: ‘We have it from here’

Under grey, rainy skies, a police motorcade brought the body of Toronto Const. Marc Pinizzotto, who was shot dead in the line of duty last week, to a funeral home in Thornhill on Sunday afternoon.

Pinizzotto was shot at an apartment building on Martha Eaton Way on Thursday while investigating multiple shootings, including one at the U.S. Consulate in March.

Police say 19-year-old Nicholas Bennett, who was shot multiple times in the exchange of gunfire, is charged with first-degree murder.

Police say Zara Jabbi, a 19-year-old suspect wanted in the consulate shooting, is still on the loose and should be considered armed and dangerous.

“To Const. Marc Pinizzotto, your duty is complete,” OPP Sgt. Ed Sanchuk said in a livestream of the procession, his voice choked with emotion as windshield wipers waved back and forth.

“Your watch has ended, and today we escort you home. Rest in peace, Marc. We have it from here.”

Pinizzotto acted with unwavering courage and conviction, Sanchuk said.

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“Each day he wore the uniform, he did so with a deep sense of responsibility, placing the needs of the citizens above his own and without hesitation.”

He added the OPP understands Toronto officers’ grief “all too well.”

Sanchuk said the Toronto force was among the first to show its support, sending condolences and lining the streets to salute, when two members of the OPP were recently killed in the line of duty, their bodies brought to the same coroner’s office.

OPP Sgt. Brandon Malcolm, who served on the precision motorcycle team, died in a single-vehicle crash on April 27. He was 33.

OPP Const. Tarun Bali, 29, was struck by the driver of a vehicle on Tuesday in the northern town of Hearst, about 520 kilometres east of Thunder Bay, as fellow investigators searched for a man who had escaped from a hospital.

Justin Veronneau, an 18-year-old man from Hearst, now faces charges including first-degree murder, assaulting police and dangerous operation of a vehicle.

Tributes from Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Mayor Olivia Chow and others have poured in for the 43-year-old fallen officer.