News & Politics - 4 RCMP Officers Killed in the line of duty...

**Mio** · 03-04-2005, 11:08 AM

It's really sad. Four cops, didn't even get a shot off from their gun and were shot by a man man trying to save his pot plants.

Quote:

(Yahoo News Canada

By BETH DUFF-BROWN, Associated Press Writer

TORONTO - Canadians were stunned Friday by the deadliest attack on police officers in 120 years, the slayings of four Mounties while they were investigating an illegal marijuana farm in western Canada.

"Canadians are shocked by this brutality and join me in condemning the violent acts that brought about these deaths," Prime Minister Paul Martin said. He has called for a moment of silence before opening his Liberal party's annual conference later Friday.

The four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers had been investigating a farm near the village of Rochfort Bridge in northwestern Alberta when they were shot, RCMP spokesman Cpl. Wayne Oakes said. The four and the suspected gunman were found in a Quonset hut late Thursday, Oakes said.

A government source told The Canadian Press the suspect killed himself after shooting the officers. State-run CBC-TV identified the gunman as 46-year-old James Roszko and said he had a long rap sheet, including the use of illegal firearms and sexual assault.

"It's my sad duty to inform you that four members of the RCMP were killed today in the line of duty — four brave, young members," said Bill Sweeney, commanding officer of the Mounties in Alberta.

"The loss of four police officers is unprecedented in recent history," Sweeney said. "I'm told you have to go back to about 1885 in the RCMP history during the Northwest Rebellion to have a loss of this magnitude."

The Northwest Rebellion was an unsuccessful attempt by indigenous rebels to establish an independent nation in the northwestern frontier.

One of the four officers killed Thursday was a young constable who had been on the job for only two weeks, Canadian Press reported. Another was a 33-year-old ace marksman who entered the service with his twin brother.

Police have not officially released the names of the officers but family members confirmed that 29-year-old rookie Constables Brock Myrol and Leo Johnston were among the dead.

David Myrol, an Edmonton lawyer, said his cousin Brock was part of a close-knit family, which is devastated by his death.

"We'll be asking questions about what happened," he told the National Post newspaper. "There's no doubt."

The officers were armed only with handguns. Some have asked why the officers didn't have better backup and how all four could have been killed by a single gunman.

Sgt. Rick Oncescu of the Calgary RCMP said two SWAT teams were called into the area and Mounties from surrounding jurisdictions also responded when the four officers didn't respond to radio calls Thursday afternoon.

Maj. Scott Lundy, a spokesman for Edmonton Garrison, said the military received a request from the RCMP for assistance early in the afternoon. He said two armored personnel carriers, an ambulance and about 20 military personnel were dispatched from the military base.

Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan said she would consider tougher penalties for growers in a proposed marijuana decriminalization bill. The Liberal Party is preparing to debate a resolution that asserts legalizing pot would curb drug dealers and organized crime.

This moron makes me want the death penalty brought back to Canada.

Quote:

(Yahoo News Canada)

Man Who Killed Canada Mounties Was 'Wicked Devil'

By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The man suspected of shooting and killing four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, in the worst blood bath of its kind in Canada for 120 years, was "a wicked devil" who loved guns, relatives and media reports said Friday.

The four junior Mounties were guarding a farmhouse, which was believed being used to grow marijuana and store stolen property, when they were ambushed and killed Thursday by a man with a rifle. The murders took place near the town of Mayerthorpe, about 90 miles northwest of Edmonton.

The deaths marked one of the bloodiest days in the history of the national police force and shocked a country where violent crime is rare.

Canada has strict gun controls and statistics show it has about eight times fewer firearm homicides per 100,000 people than the United States.

The suspect committed suicide by shooting himself, police said. Relatives and the media named him as Jim Roszko, 46.

"I hate what has happened. I feel terrible. He is not my son. He is a wicked devil," Roszko's father, Bill, told the Calgary Herald newspaper, saying his son had begun to experiment with drugs and guns at an early age.

Neighbors told the newspaper that Roszko was a loner who would regularly confront people around his farm property and did not hesitate to fire warning shots. Others called him "a walking time bomb."

The elder Roszko told CTV Television that his son had always had an angry streak and said he ended up in trouble "because of the drugs, you know, and the bad company with bad boys."

The killings focused attention on Canada's booming illegal marijuana trade, which in the western province of British Columbia alone is worth an estimated C$5 billion ($4 billion) a year. Police say the trade is dominated by organized crime.

Ottawa says casual pot users should not end up with a criminal record and last November unveiled draft legislation to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana -- an idea that angered U.S. law enforcement officials.

The draft legislation would strengthen the penalties for those involved in large-scale marijuana growing operations.

Public Security Minister Anne McLellan said Thursday she would look at further toughening the bill, under which growers caught with more than 50 plants face up to 14 years in jail.

The legislation would make possession of up to 15 grams of marijuana punishable by a fine of C$150 for adults and C$100 for minors. Users would not get a criminal record.

The last time so many national police officers were shot and killed in a single action was 120 years ago during a rebellion in Western Canada by the mixed race Metis, made up of native Indians and white settlers.

Figures from Statistics Canada show that from 1961 to 2003, only 26 Mounties were killed on duty. The total number of police who were killed in the same period -- including those in regional and municipal forces -- was 118.

"I am very concerned about people in society who are acting in a way which is almost unknown in Canada, where people react in a way that is so violent it's almost incomprehensible," said Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli, who is Canada's top Mountie.

Okay, this one ticks me off, because they give no extra explanation.. Off topic, but...

Quote:

The last time so many national police officers were shot and killed in a single action was 120 years ago during a rebellion in Western Canada by the mixed race Metis, made up of native Indians and white settlers.

Yeah, makes us look like we were the main cause. At this point in time the government were taking away the land of Aboriginals who were here first.

***Raonaild*** · 03-04-2005, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrs. George Eads

This moron makes me want the death penalty brought back to Canada.

The guy who did this is also died at the scene.

**Mio** · 03-04-2005, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raonaild

The guy who did this is also died at the scene.

I know that, but for those morons who live should be killed.

**Lost in Translation** · 03-06-2005, 10:02 AM

This is pissing me off so much. It's making me rethink the death penalty. I mean what would of happened if he lived?

This actually brought tears to my eyes:

Quote:

Some expressions of grief are heart-achingly beautiful. At the police station shrine, set beside two ceramic angels and a menagerie of plush toys, is a note from a local woman.

"Dear God, the souls of four dedicated police officers entered heaven today before their time," the message says. "My 5-year-old daughter wanted to give the families of the fallen officers her four favourite stuffed animals."

Source: Canada.com

*Ledi* · 03-06-2005, 10:27 AM

This shocked me, and of course saddened me. May they rest in peace.

LittleMilkJug · 03-06-2005, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by *Ledi*

This shocked me, and of course saddened me. May they rest in peace.

Amen

**Lost in Translation** · 03-07-2005, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by *Ledi*

This shocked me, and of course saddened me. May they rest in peace.

Amen.

Elizajoey · 03-08-2005, 06:53 AM

Tragic news.

To a foreigner, the Mounties have always had this affectionate notation to them - that although they 'fight crime', they don't have that same connotations as the police - they 'are of the team' if you know what I mean.

Mounties have always been cool to me - I remember when I visited Canada and I met one, it was the highlight of my trip - Due South was pretty big on TV here and I remember telling people that I had met a Mountie and everyone at school thought it was pretty wicked.

**Mio** · 03-10-2005, 01:34 PM

If you would like to watch live streaming video of the memorial being held right now you can go here.

mh67511 · 03-10-2005, 05:27 PM

What is the RCMP exactly? Is it police officers on horses?

**Mio** · 03-10-2005, 05:44 PM

The Royal Mounted Canadian Police started out as police officers on horses. Now they ride in cars, but still have horses. They police officers for rural towns, but we have detachments within the cities.

You can visit this page to see the history of the RCMP.

I watched some of the memorial service today and it was so moving, so amazing to see the sea of scarlett in the massive audience. It made me so proud to be a Canadian, and yet so sad that a member of our society could do something so haneous like this.

Maggie aka Sarah · 03-10-2005, 08:51 PM

A couple of articles from ctv.ca

Maggie

Quote:

Mounties mourned 'by neighbours, and by a nation
CTV.ca News Staff

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories

Police from across North America, grieving family members, dignitaries and everyday citizens packed an Edmonton pavilion to remember the four RCMP constables who lost their lives last week.

The service to honour the memory of murdered RCMP constables Peter Schiemann, 25, Leo Johnston, 32, Anthony Gordon, 28, and Brock Myrol, 29, was the largest ever held for Mounties killed in the line of duty.

Mourners bowed their heads, some with tears streaming down their faces, as the last haunting notes of the Last Post echoed inside the pavilion just after 2:40 p.m. MT.

RCMP Chaplain Bob Harper asked that God cleanse those affected by this evil.
At the end of the service, up to 10,000 police officers in attendance replaced their headdresses and saluted.

A red and gold Guidon, the regimental flag of the RCMP, was marched out of the building to rest in a special place of honour at the Mounties' headquarters.
"No matter the era, it seems that children always want to grow up to be police officers -- to wear the uniform, to enforce the law, catch the criminal," said Prime Minister Paul Martin in his remarks.

Martin spoke of the untold debt Canadians owe to the men and women who keep citizens safe against those that wish to do harm.

"Anthony Gordon, Lionide Johnston, Brock Myrol, Peter Schiemann: This was their dream. They dedicated themselves to standing up for what is good in our world, to serving their community, and to protecting their neighbours," said Martin.
Addressing families of the victims, Gov.-Gen. Adrienne Clarkson said, "What must never leave you is the gratitude of a nation.

"These men so cared about the public good that they were willing to die to serve it. As we have always known, true honour is not for those who have received, but to those who have given."

"Our words do not do justice to our sense of sorrow," added Alberta Premier Ralph Klein. "We don't pretend to know the depth of your pain, but as you grieve may you take comfort in knowing that a province and the nation grieve with you.
RCMP Commissioner Giulianio Zaccardelli told the memorial that every day Canada's Mounties wear the red serge, they know they're not alone -- that they rely on each other to uphold the law.

He said the four constables chose to stand at the front lines, the place that marks the difference between right and wrong, good and evil.

Alberta RCMP Assistant Commissioner Bill Sweeney said Canada has been covered by a "terrible veil of darkness" after the loss of the officers, but that it's time to let the light back into our lives.

Reverent musical interludes included country singer Ian Tyson singing "Four Strong Winds," singer Susan Aglukark performing "Songbird" and actor Tom Jackson's rendition of "Amazing Grace."

Eulogies

But the most poignant moments were the eulogies delivered for the fallen officers.
Rev. Don Schiemann wept as he spoke about his son Peter, the youngest of the four constables.

"The pain of our loss is beyond anything we could have imagined," said Schiemann. "Peter, we shall see you in heaven, but we can hardly wait."

Const. Leo Johnston's twin brother, Lee, spoke about the man born just nine minutes ahead of him. Lee said he idolized his big brother, calling him his "best friend and the most important person in my life."

He choked back tears, pausing in front the portrait of his brother on the pavilion's stage before looking briefing to the heavens and walking back to his seat.

Const. Barrie Baskerville from the RCMP's Whitecourt detachment spoke of Tony Gordon's love of camping, his dedication to his job and how he loved to help people.

He shared an anecdote of how Gordon once chased down a dog for its owner, only to have his right hand bitten and his pants ripped to shreds.

"That was Anthony," said Baskerville. "If you needed any help, whether minor or serious, he was there for you."

Rev. Art Hundeby spoke of Const. Brock Myrol's love of dinosaurs and travel, and his talent for collecting friends.

"But the love of his life, Anjila, was his best friend. And he was so looking forward to their wedding." Myrol became engaged to Anjila Steeves this past Christmas.
"All of his friends are a testament to Brock's strong relational bonds, intense loyalty, and caring nature," said Hundeby.

The procession

Before the service began, a quartet of Mounties, each bearing a brown Stetson on a black pillow, led a two-kilometre procession leading into the memorial service.
Headdresses of the slain members were placed onto the stage, followed by the singing of Canada's national anthem by the RCMP Cadet Choir and the call to worship and opening prayer led by Chaplain Bob Harper and Aumonier Serge Giroux.

Officers came from as far away as New Hampshire, Oregon, Alaska, and Minnesota, to stand alongside their Canadian counterparts.

And they weren't just police officers, as the crowd was also filled with firefighters, railway police and even Parks Canada wardens.

Members of the public arrived at the pavilion hours early to secure one of the few seats reserved for them.

"I am eternally grateful for these people who put their lives on the line for our freedom," said mourner Brittany Forrester, 20, from Calgary. "Just the fact that I can be at home safe with my family. I want to show respect for people who lost family members.''

Trina Johnson, 26, of Edmonton, added, "I didn't even know the people who died, but when you see this outpouring of love for one another, it just unites us. It helps us understand that these are real sacrifices that people make.''

Condolences and messages of inspiration urging Mayerthorpe, Alta. residents to "keep your chin up" have been pouring into the community from around the world, the town's mayor Albert Schalm told CTV's Canada AM.

"The whole nation suffers with us, we're not bearing this burden alone," he said.
It's not just Canadians who feel the loss. For U.S. Park Ranger Steve Frye, being across the border does not lessen the loss of members he calls part of his "extended family."

"We work very closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Park Rangers across the United States feel a special bond with the members of the RCMP," Frye told Canada AM while in Edmonton.

"We are all feeling grief, our strength is in the solidarity that we have together and that, as well as our honour and respect, is why we are here today."

RCMP cadet Barry Wiese agreed, saying that the entire world feels the loss of a fallen officer.

"No matter where it happens...everybody is touched by it in some way," Wiese said.

"I believe when it happens, it really hits home what kind of job you are in, and really, you are serving the community, and I think that's why the community gets upset too."

The four officers were killed by Jim Roszko, 46, who was a known cop-hater and gun lover who cut a terrifying figure in the Mayerthorpe area.

One of the officers, Const. Schiemann, was buried Tuesday. The other three officers will be buried on Friday and Saturday.

The memorial service at the University of Alberta's Butterdome is an RCMP event. It is almost unprecedented in scale -- it's been 120 years since the RCMP suffered a loss of this magnitude.

With files from The Canadian Press

*********************************************
'We're all one family,' say mourning officers

CTV.ca News Staff

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories

The police officers who came from all across the country to pay tribute to the four Mounties gunned down in Alberta last week say they wanted to be there to show their solidarity.

The officers see themselves not only as comrades of the Alberta officers, but as brothers and sisters in a policing family that spans this nation.

For that reason, they gathered in Edmonton for the biggest police memorial in Canadian history. An estimated 10,000 officers attended. So many officers went from Ontario alone, they chartered their own plane.

"Even though we might not have known them personally it's a big family," RCMP Const. Sean Martell said of the national police force.

The Mounties are about as Canadian a symbol as you can find. But even police officers from the U.S. say they feel part of the family. State troopers, members of the FBI, as well as local police forces also sent officers to attend the memorial.
"We work very closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police," says U.S.

National Park Ranger Steve Freye. "And park rangers from across the United States feel a special bond with the members of the RCMP. We're all feeling grief.
"Our strength is in the solidarity that we have together. And that, as well as our honour and respect, is why we're here today."

U.S. Park Ranger Fred Van Horn says he decided he wanted to attend the service as soon as he heard about the tragedy.

"It's one of those things that you want to be part of, you want to try to help the family," he says.

A number of cadets who are training to become RCMP officers at the Regina Training Centre also attended.

Even though he's not yet fully a Mountie, Cadet Barry Wiese says that he still feels the loss of his fellow officers.

"It's a special family. And no matter where something happens, it gets everybody," he says. "Everybody is touched by it in some way. It touches the community as well and I think that's why the community gets upset, too, because now it's part of their own family."

Wiese says he thinks the killings "put a lot of things in perspective" for the cadets but also gives them new resolve.

"I think it gives us a new conviction to really work twice as hard and give us a new focus, too," the father of four says.

U.S. Park Ranger Frye would agree. "It just reinforces your resolve to do the job that you've chosen to do that much better, in honour of that person that's fallen."
RCMP Sgt. Mike Niebudek says every police officer who heard about the killings thinks to him or herself: There but for the grace of God go I.

"But the pride in the job is what we rely on as well as our relationship with our fellow officers."

edited to add

Mrs. George: I also watched some of the memorial service tonight. Was very moving.

mh67511: As Mrs G... the RCMP did start off on horse back. They were first formed in the 1800s to bring peace and order to the Canadian prairies... but then ended up being a national police force. Lots of small towns and other areas of the county which don't have their own police forces are patrolled by the Mounties.

Hey... a lot of the times when I have met members of the RCMP was when I was a teenager and the Mounties in the Whiteshell Provincial Park where my family had a summer cottage, loved to stop me and my sisters just to check if we had our seat belts buckled and valid drivers licenses. Remember the time when they stopped my Mother.... and commented.... hey... your not Maggie, or Joanne. So our Mom came home and asked us why the Mounties knew us by our first names.

Which... the remembering the first names of people who lived in the area that they patrolled... is part of the reason that the RCMP are respected.

Also remember the time when my sister and I and some of our friends were at the lake... and were evacuated because of a massive forest fire. The Mounties did an awesome job that day. Cleared the lake of about 1000 people in about half an hour... with only one road out to the main highway. Also were doing stuff like picking up via helicopter people stranded in canoes that were surrounded by fire.

Almost everyone in Canada has had a positive experience with the RCMP I think.
Any ways... the Mounties are part of what makes Canada Canada... so this senseless attack on them feels like an attack on what Canada stands for... for many people.

Maggie

**Lost in Translation** · 03-11-2005, 07:35 AM

I missed the procession but I've seen clips. It's so sad.

**Mio** · 03-11-2005, 09:44 AM

Maggie, are you from Manitoba?

Yeah, Mounties rock. You rarely get to see them in their red outfits, because they have a uniform like city police, but different colors.

Maggie aka Sarah · 03-11-2005, 09:26 PM

Mrs George: I live in Montreal, but I grew up in Winnipeg.

It's true that you don't see the Mounties in their red uniforms that often. Saw the musical ride when I was kid... which was très cool. And when one of my nephews got married... the father of the bride was in the RCMP and showed up in his red uniform and stetson.

Maggie


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