COCHRANE RALLIES AROUND RCMP

Cochrane Times -- While the country is reeling from the loss of four
Alberta RCMP officers, shot in the line of duty, a detachment closer to
home is overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and condolences from
residents in the area.

Cochrane Sgt. Mike McTaggart said while the members at his detachment are
hurting, they are very appreciative of the encouragement they've received
from the community.

"I should say the people of Cochrane have been extremely generous to us and
have dropped off a tremendous number of flowers and baked goods and they've
just been fantastic," said McTaggart. "Every member is affected when we
loose one of our members. To loose four is a tragedy beyond comprehension,
and it's taken a long time to sink in."

Four RCMP members from the Mayerthorpe and Whitecourt detachments were
gunned down March 3 while guarding a marijuana grow operation in Mayerthorpe.

Cst. Peter Schiemann, 25 Cst. Lionide Johnston, 32, Cst. Brock Myrol, 29,
and Cst. Anthony Gordon, 28, were shot and killed by 47-year-old James
Roszko, who then turned the gun and killed himself.

Roszko had a reputation for shooting at trespassers who wandered onto his
property and his violent tendencies were well-known to police.

McTaggart said the outpouring of support has been overwhelming and is
helping officers in Cochrane deal with a tragedy that is far too close for
comfort.

"Staff Sgt. Scott Beck's previous command was Mayerthorpe and he's really
familiar with three out of the four. And Cpl. Steve Simpson was also from
Mayerthorpe and he's familiar with the four as well. There's the personal
element here since a lot of our members have had a personal attachments to
those members," said McTaggart. "The mood here is subdued and our members
are continuing to work away at Cochrane issues. We're looking at the
funeral arrangements to allow as many of our members to go up there as
possible but have to look at our staffing levels to make sure we maintain
an adequate presence here."

In the meantime, he said everyone is "dealing with it in their own way" and
sincerely appreciates the condolences received from the community.

He declined to comment on whether he believed proper procedure was followed
but did say he was awaiting results of an investigation into the deaths.

"Certainly the armchair quarterbacks can 'what if'. But until the
investigation is complete and we know exactly what happened, it's premature
to comment on what occurred and what could have been done better. We just
don't know," he said. "We're all very interested in hearing the details
once the investigation is complete."

A national memorial service will be held March 10 at 1 p.m. at the
University of Alberta's Butterdome Universade Pavillion.

More information can be obtained by clicking on www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca