JOINT UNIT COPES WITH GRIEF

RCMP-Edmonton Police Green Team at The Scene Just Hours before Murders

EDMONTON -- Six RCMP-Edmonton city police Green Team members -- four of
whom were involved in the rural bust that escalated into a mass killing --
were on days off Friday, but worked it instead as a way to cope with the
slayings. The team of RCMP and city police officers had come and gone from
a marijuana bust Wednesday on a farm near Rochfort Bridge, 120 km northwest
of Edmonton, before four Mounties were gunned down there the next day.

"It was hard to know how to deal with it. You had all these different types
of feelings. It was kind of nice to get together with the guys," said city
police team member Det. Darren Derko, adding news of the slayings was
"surreal."

"I know exactly what that word means now. It's hard to explain. I've got no
words. You just felt sick in your stomach and didn't know what to think or
what to do."

Derko, with three other Green Team members, went to the Mayerthorpe-area
farm around midnight Wednesday with a search warrant to check a quonset and
found 300 marijuana plants inside along with evidence of a vehicle chop shop.

At about 4 a.m. Thursday, the Green Team left. Two Mounties were left to
guard the quonset.

Within hours, they were shot dead along with two of their comrades.

Derko -- who had just met some of the officers that night -- and fellow
Green Team members reflected on the bust during a steak dinner after work
Friday.

"You question yourself, 'Did I miss something?' Could I have done something
differently?' It was just nice to talk to the guys. I don't know if we
could've done anything differently," said Derko.

"Yeah, the guy has a history with the police, but we were aware of that."

RCMP Cpl. Lorne Adamitz, a Green Team member with Derko during the
Mayerthorpe-area bust, knew on a professional basis constables Peter
Schiemann, Anthony Gordon and Lionide Johnston -- three of the four dead
Mounties.

"We frequently have interaction with detachment personnel," said Adamitz.

"The way we dealt with it is going out for a team dinner. If something
happened in your family, you'd probably get together with family members
and just discuss things."

Derko said it was like a sports team getting together.

"This is the same thing. It's a brotherhood," said Derko.