GROW-OPS JUDGED TOO SOON: TOP COP

RCMP Commissioner Says Root Cause Of Tragic Deaths May Lie Elsewhere

OTTAWA - Canada's top police officer said Monday that he was too quick to
condemn a marijuana grow operation as the root cause in the deaths of four
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers last week.

RCMP commissioner Guiliano Zaccardelli said in an interview that his
condemnation of grow-ops just hours after the shootings may have been
inappropriate because police and politicians did not have full details of
the particular case and the background of cop killer James Roszko.

Zaccardelli and Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, his political boss as
the minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, spoke of the
scourge of marijuana grow operations within hours of the killings and the
need for tougher penalties for those who operate them.

"I gave what I believed was the best information I had knowing full well
that at that time I didn't have all the information," a contrite
Zaccardelli said. "Clearly, there's a lot of things in there that, in
hindsight, we will have to look at in a different perspective."

Police in Mayerthorpe first attended Roszko's home last Wednesday with a
court order to seize stolen auto parts. While there, they discovered what a
search warrant said were 20 "mature" marijuana plants, "several pots
containing dirt with stems coming out of them numbering close to 100," and
a smell "consistent of a marijuana grow operation."

But in the days since the murders, it appears they were the work of a
deranged man with a long criminal history, but hardly that of a gangster
protecting his cash crop.

"None of these are simple issues. This requires some reflection and
discussion," Zaccardelli said. "Let's honour the memory of these four
fallen police officers and help their families get through it, and then we
need to carry on the debate after this."

Zaccardelli's comments followed statements in the House of Commons by all
four political parties commemorating the deaths of constables Peter
Schiemann, 25, Anthony Gordon, 28, Brock Myrol, 29, and Leo Johnston, 32.

Opposition parties declined out of respect for the four dead officers to
use Monday's question period to probe the initial reactions of Zaccardelli
and McLellan.

McLellan would not discuss Zaccardelli's comments Monday.

Politically, it appears the federal gun registry could bear the brunt of
the fallout in the days to come. Roszko had a long criminal record and
should not have had access to weapons.