FOUR OFFICERS KILLED

Police Slain At Alberta Grow-Op In One Of RCMP's Darkest Days

MAYERTHORPE, Alta. -- Four RCMP officers -- almost the entire membership of
a rural detachment -- were shot and killed Thursday in one of the darkest
days in RCMP history.

The officers -- one of whom was identified by his family as Const. Brock
Myrol, 29 -- were investigating a suspected marijuana growing operation at
a farm near Mayerthorpe, a community about 130 kilometres northwest of
Edmonton.

RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli, in an emotional news conference in
Ottawa Thursday evening, confirmed the deaths. "It is with profound sadness
that I confirm that four members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were
killed today in service to our country," said Zaccardelli. "It is an
unprecedented and unspeakable loss."

It was the first time in decades that multiple Canadian police officers
have been killed while in action and it prompted a statement from Prime
Minister Paul Martin.

"Canadians are shocked by this brutality, and join me in condemning the
violent acts that brought about these deaths," Martin said in a statement.

"This terrible event is a reminder of the sacrifice and bravery of the men
and women who serve in our national police force, and of the dangerous
circumstances which they often confront, in order to make Canada a safer
place."

The prime minister also expressed his condolences to the families of the
four officers, who were all male junior members.

RCMP say three officers who died were from the Mayerthorpe detachment and
one from a detachment in nearby Whitecourt.

A family friend said Myrol had started with the Mayerthorpe detachment on
Feb. 14. He was originally from Red Deer, Alta.

Myrol's cousin, David Myrol, a prominent Edmonton lawyer, said the family
is very close, with the slain officer at its very nucleus.

"We were all very proud of Brock," he said Thursday. "He was such an
important part of the family."

The young man's family is anxious to know all the circumstances surrounding
Thursday's shootings, he said.

"We'll be asking questions about what happened," said Myrol, a partner with
Mclennon Ross. "There's no doubt."

The other officers were not immediately identified, pending notification of
family members.

They were guarding the scene of an investigation at a large quonset hut at
a farm in Rochfort Bridge near the community of Mayerthorpe Thursday
morning when shots were fired by a lone gunman who apparently caught the
officers by surprise. The gunman died at the scene.

"We're all in terrible shock and mourning as you can imagine," said
assistant RCMP Commissioner Bill Sweeney of K Division in Alberta.

"This is a tremendous loss," added Alberta Solicitor General Harvey
Cenaiko, who was visibly shaken. "It was a senseless act."

Two of the officers were at the farmhouse overnight, guarding the scene in
an investigation that also involved stolen property, said RCMP Cpl. Wayne
Oakes. The other two officers joined them in the morning. Other Mounties
who were on the scene heard shots at 10 a.m., and the decision was made to
call in help, said Oakes.

Just after 2 p.m., officers stormed the building and found the bodies of
the four officers and the man who is suspected of killing them, James Roszko.

Officers and soldiers dressed in bullet-proof vests and carrying
high-powered rifles came and went from the operations base, many with tears
in their eyes.

More than 100 officers were on the scene, along with soldiers from the
Canadian military, who provided three Bison armoured vehicles.

RCMP set up roadblocks around the farm and air space over the area was
closed throughout the day.

Maj. Scott Lundy, a spokesman for Edmonton Garrison, said two armoured
personnel carriers, an ambulance and about 20 military personnel were
dispatched from the military base, but about two hours later, police told
the military their help was no longer needed.

People in the town of 1,570 huddled around radios in the hardware store and
by their pickup trucks as the tragedy unfolded. At the end of the day the
flag in front of the local Legion was lowered to half mast.

Emotions ran high, with local residents striking out at reporters and
photographers who had descended on the town. One CBC cameraman was
reportedly punched in the eye by a relative of one of the deceased officers.

Mayerthorpe Mayor Albert Schalm said: "I'm sick. I don't know what to tell
you. It shocks me that this could even happen."

James Roszko, the suspect in the shooting, was well known around town as
being violent and mentally unstable.

"Cops have known about him for a long time," said Pat Burns, a local
carpenter. "The justice system doesn't have the balls to do what needs to
be done."

Several people in town said there were rumours of Roszko hiding weapons on
his property. The suspect is also reputed to have put planks with spikes in
his driveway. When scrutineers came in before the last provincial election,
the spikes blew out their tires.

He was described as a loner who lived in a trailer on the west side of the
farm, and his mother lived in a home on the other side of the large farm.

In Whitecourt, Mayor Trevor Thain said, "The detachment is a great bunch of
people and I'm sure I can't even begin to imagine how they feel right now."

Thain said the Whitecourt detachment has about 15 officers while the
Mayerthorpe detachment only has about three or four members. Those numbers
don't include a highway patrol unit which is administered through the
Whitecourt detachment.

Thursday's shooting was the first time in nearly 20 years since multiple
Canadian police officers were slain in action. On July 4, 1985, Const.
Jacques Giguere and his partner Const. Yves Tetu of the Quebec Police
Service were gunned down as they investigated the tripping of a burglar
alarm at a medical equipment warehouse.

Forty officers in Canada have died in the line of duty since 2000,
including seven in 2004.