CANADIANS, LAW OFFICERS MOURN 4 MOUNTIES SLAIN IN DRUG RAID

EDMONTON, Alberta - Thousands of North American law enforcement officers,
dignitaries and schoolchildren streamed into this prairie city Thursday to
honor four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers slain last week during a
raid on a marijuana farm.

The memorial service included a mile-long parade of Mounties, eight
abreast, wearing their traditional broad-brimmed Stetsons and scarlet
tunics. Four officers carried black pillows with Stetsons. The service was
broadcast nationally from the University of Alberta Butterdome.

"They have fallen in service to us," Prime Minister Paul Martin told the
crowd. "The people of Canada owe an untold debt to these four officers and
their families."

Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson told the grieving families: "What must never
leave you is the gratitude of a nation."

The four Mounties - Peter Schiemann, 25; Anthony Gordon, 28; Brock Myrol,
29; and Lionide Johnston, 32 - were shot and killed March 3 while
investigating a farm in Mayerthrope, a small hamlet in the western province
of Alberta. It was the deadliest attack on Canadian police officers in 120
years.

The Mounties were ambushed by James Roszko, 46, who had a long criminal
record and numerous battles with police. Roszko was found dead. A
government source told The Canadian Press news agency last week that Roszko
killed himself after shooting the officers.

The families of the victims held one another and cried Thursday as
officials, Mounties and clergy praised the men. There was a minute of
silence, and a lone bugler played the Last Post.

Schiemann's father, Don, said he hoped the service would help people across
Canada deal with the heartbreak.

"It is a time to grieve together and to celebrate the lives of these men,"
Schiemann told The Canadian Press news agency. "Even in the midst of such
despair, there is tremendous hope. That is what is keeping me going, and I
hope the nation hears it loud and clear."

The Mounties are as much a national symbol as a police force. William
Beahen, the RCMP's historian emeritus, said the service was the largest
memorial in the force's history.

"This has been overwhelming for Canadians," Beahen said. "It is a very
poignant moment in the history of our country."