Marc Pinizzotto

On June 11, 2026, Constable Pinizzotto was fatally shot while his ETF team executed a high-risk search warrant at a northwest Toronto apartment as part of an investigation into multiple shootings, including a March shooting at the U.S. Consulate on University Avenue. He was taken to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, where he died. He was 43.

Chief Myron Demkiw announced the line-of-duty death outside Sunnybrook alongside Toronto Police Association president Clayton Campbell and Mayor Olivia Chow. Demkiw said one suspect, identified as Zara Jabbi, 19, remained outstanding and urged him to surrender. Pinizzotto was the first Toronto Police officer killed in the line of duty since Constable Andrew Hong in September 2022. Officers lined routes for the coroner's procession, and his funeral was held on June 24, 2026, at the Toronto Congress Centre, attended by thousands of police and first responders from Canada and the United States.

Marc Pinizzotto was born on September 24, 1982, in Mississauga, Ontario, and grew up in the Oakville area. Hockey shaped his childhood and young adulthood. He played four seasons of Junior A hockey with the Oakville Blades of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, was named captain in his final year, and recorded 145 points in 160 games. After junior hockey he spent a short period overseas with the Erfurt Black Dragons in the German Oberliga before returning to Canada.

His brothers also played high-level hockey: Steve Pinizzotto reached the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers and later won championships with Red Bull Munich in Germany; Jay also played in Germany. In later years the three brothers worked together in a hockey training company, and Marc continued mentoring children as an instructor with the Oakville Rangers Hockey Club Skills Academy.

Pinizzotto joined the Toronto Police Service in 2008 and began as a uniform officer at 23 Division. In 2016 he was selected for the Emergency Task Force, one of the Service's most highly trained tactical units, and served on Gun Team 1. In 2020 he transferred to the Toronto Police College Armament Section, providing specialized firearms and tactical training to members across the Service. He returned to operational ETF duties in 2023 with Team 2.

By June 2026 he had served 18 years with TPS, including more than five years with the ETF across two operational stints. Chief Myron Demkiw later said Pinizzotto helped train thousands of Toronto officers and embodied ETF values of discipline, readiness, teamwork, trust and courage. ETF Unit Commander Peter Morris and Sergeant Ken LeFort remembered him as a courageous, ultra-reliable teammate whose presence made colleagues better.

Pinizzotto married Andrea and was the father of Daniella and Domenic. Family tributes at his funeral described him as a devoted dad who coached hockey, shared Starbucks outings with his daughter, taught his son to skate and build things, and held the family together with humour and care. He is also survived by his parents, Leo Pinizzotto and Linda Pinizzotto (and her husband Derrick), brothers Jay and Steve and their families, and his in-laws.

Away from policing he remained active in Oakville hockey as a coach and mentor. Colleagues knew him by the nickname "Pinner." His brother-in-law Aaron Laws, a retired Canadian Armed Forces member, spoke of a shared commitment to standing up for others.

Funeral speakers framed Pinizzotto's legacy through the Survivors of Law Enforcement phrase "Heroes in Life, Not Death": remembered for how he lived, trained others and protected colleagues, not only for how he died. Demkiw said his mentorship created ripple effects across the Service. Mississauga City Council unanimously voted to rename a community park important to the Pinizzotto family in his honour.

His children, brothers, mother and ETF teammates pledged to carry forward his example of courage, humour and service. The Toronto Police Service and Association pledged ongoing support to his family, who remain part of the policing family.