DARK DAY FOR RCMP: FOUR KILLED DURING ALBERTA DRUG RAID

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 a family friend 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."

RCMP say three members 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 Feb. 14. He was originally from Red
Deer, Alta. The other officers were not immediately identified.

The officers 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. Four officers
died today."

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

"On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to express my
condolences to the families of the officers who were killed as they carried
out their duty in enforcing the law and protecting the public," said Martin.

The officers were not immediately identified.

"We must respect the process of the medical examiner," said RCMP Cpl. Wayne
Oakes.

Two of the officers were at the farmhouse overnight, guarding the scene in
an investigation that also involved stolen property, said 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 suspect, James Roszko.

"There are four dead," an officer said at the police operations base at a
Legion hall in Mayerthorpe as relatives of the deceased officers arrived
mid-afternoon. One woman collapsed in tears after speaking with one of the
officers, then got in her car and drove away.

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.

There was confusion throughout the day after Cenaiko told reporters that
officers were executing a search warrant when they were met with gunfire.
The four officers had failed to respond to their radios after conducting
the raid.

Mid-day Oakes said there was reason to believe a lone male suspect was
armed with a high-powered rifle.

But Oakes would not release any more information at the time, saying RCMP
did not want to jeopardize the officers' safety.

RCMP set up roadblocks around the farm and the air space over the area was
closed throughout the day. A television station in Edmonton reported that
neighbours believe a man tried to flee the property at high speed Wednesday
night.

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.

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.