NATION IN SHOCK AFTER MURDERS

Words cannot begin to convey the shock caused by the murder of four
RCMP officers from Mayerthorpe. From one coast to the other, the
nation is reeling and in mourning.

It is not hard to understand why. There has not been a mass killing of
RCMP like this since 1885. Murders of law enforcement officers do not
happen on this scale in Canada.

So the deaths of Anthony Gordon, 28, Leo Johnston, 32, Brock Myrol,
29, and Peter Schiemann, 25, have hit home in a way other tragedies
have not.

These four RCMP officers died tragically in the line of duty. They
gave their lives in the protection of the community's safety. It was
the ultimate sacrifice.

It is a shame, however, that their deaths have become so rapidly
politicized, with both proponents and opponents of decriminalization
of marijuana usage lining up to claim the deaths of these four young
men supports their positions.

Opponents of decriminalization, for example, argue that the proposed
liberalization of marijuana laws will lead to more grow-ops of the
kind that got the four officers killed.

Proponents of the reforms, on the other hand, point out that
decriminalization would reduce the high stakes associated with marijuana.

None of this, of course, is neither here nor there. The fact of the
matter is that the four men were attempting to bring in a dangerous
criminal who was involved in a lot of illegal activity -- from sex
offences, to theft, to cultivating marijuana. Their murderer posed a
threat to the community in more ways than one.

Police work is sadly a dangerous line of work. Officers can find
themselves in situations that can quickly turn deadly. And no matter
what level of training they receive, what precautions they take, they
cannot always protect themselves from criminals who are cop haters out
to kill.