Park to be renamed in Mississauga in honour of fallen Toronto police officer 

A Toronto Police officer and Mississauga native who was shot to death in the line of duty early last Thursday morning may soon have a park near his childhood home renamed in his honour.

Mississauga city council will hold a special council meeting on Wednesday morning to discuss changing the name of Indian Gate Park to Const. Marc Pinizzotto Park. The park is located at 1415 Indian Road, just south of the QEW in the Lorne Park area of the city.

Pinizzotto, 43, a five-year member of the Toronto Police Emergency Task Force, was with fellow ETF officers executing a search warrant at around 6:30 a.m. on June 11 in the North York area of Toronto when he was shot and killed by a suspect. The warrant was tied to a number of shootings in the Greater Toronto Area.

In total, the married father of two had served with the Toronto Police Service for 18 years.

Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish said in a post to social media late Sunday Canada’s seventh-largest city “mourns the death” of the Mississauga-born Pinizzotto, who was also a former elite hockey player.

She said city council will vote on Wednesday “to rename the park near his childhood home.”

Mississauga mourns the death of Toronto Emergency Task Force Officer in a high risk operation. Mother describes him “an incredible son, husband, father, coach and friend to many”. Council votes Wednesday to rename the park near his childhood home, CONSTABLE MARC PINIZZOTTO PARK. pic.twitter.com/ZpZBwB452U

— Mayor Carolyn Parrish (@carolynhparrish) June 14, 2026

Mississauga Ward 2 Coun. Alvin Tedjo also posted to social media, describing the officer’s death as “devastating news.”

The councillor, who represents the Lorne Park area, said Pinizzotto was “born and raised in Mississauga” and “our hearts go out to his family during this tragic time.”

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said at a news conference following Pinizzotto’s death the veteran officer was “a hero in life, not death.”

He added that, “no words can capture the impact on Marc’s family, who expected him to come home today. We as a service will support them and each other.”

The police chief said the loss of Pinizzotto “will have a profound impact on the Toronto Police family.”

Toronto Police officials said on the weekend that a procession to escort the fallen officer from the Office of the Chief Coroner in North York to a funeral home in Vaughan took place Sunday afternoon.

No funeral details have yet been released.

Meanwhile, Toronto Police said earlier that Nicholas Bennett, 19, of Toronto, will be charged with first-degree murder in the death of Pinizzotto. He remains in hospital after being shot by police on Thursday morning.

Pinizzotto was the second Ontario police officer from the Peel area to be killed last week. Tarun Bali, an Ontario Provincial Police officer from Brampton, was killed while on duty last Tuesday.

Bali had been with the OPP for nearly three years and worked out of the Dufferin County detachment, just north of the GTA. He was struck and killed by a driver during an investigation near the town of Hearst, approximately 260 kilometres west of Timmins, in northern Ontario, where he had been assigned as part of a rotation.

An 18-year-old man from Hearst has been charged with first-degree murder in Bali’s death.

This is devastating news. Marc grew up in Lorne Park, and was born and raised in Mississauga. Our hearts go out to his family during this tragic time. https://t.co/zbQQtABYwq

— Alvin Tedjo (@AlvinTedjo) June 12, 2026

– With files from The Canadian Press and Ryan Rumbolt