SHOOTER AMBUSHED MOUNTIES

Frustration With Justice System Surfaces in Mayerthorpe

MAYERTHORPE, Alta. - James Roszko lay in wait inside his Quonset hut for
four Mounties he gunned down in a battle that ended with Roszko himself
being wounded, RCMP said Saturday.

"Our officers, all four of them, were shot and killed by James Roszko,"
said regional Supt. Marty Cheliak, releasing results of post-mortem
examinations.

"None of our officers were struck by friendly fire. James Roszko was hit by
return fire by our officers. Those strikes did not result in his death.
James Roszko then took his own life."

Cheliak labelled the attack an "ambush" but wouldn't elaborate, except to
say: "The investigation has shown that that's exactly what took place.
That's why we're releasing that at this time."

He said Roszko managed to slip back into the Quonset hut while police were
watching it in the hours prior to the Thursday-morning shooting, but
investigators weren't sure how he did so.

Cheliak did not make it clear if one of the four officers shot Roszko or
whether it was two additional officers who arrived minutes after the
shooting and exchanged gunfire with Roszko.

Roszko, 46, was a convicted child molester, a community menace and a known
cop-hater.

It was common knowledge that he had weapons on his farm. An application to
search the property for stolen goods and a marijuana operation indicated
Mounties were well aware they were dealing with a volatile individual. The
application by Cpl. James Martin expressed concern about officer safety.

Cheliak wouldn't speak directly to suggestions the four men - who were
wearing soft body armour that couldn't withstand bursts from Roszko's
semi-automatic, assault-style rifle - were sent into the situation
ill-prepared.

He said they had a 12-gauge shotgun and a .308-calibre long-barrel rifle
along with their 9-mm handguns.

He noted they were advised of the dangers, had a plan in place and worked
together.

"Officers at the scene were in regular contact with other officers and
supervisors," he said.

RCMP also said the white pickup truck Roszko was last seen in prior to the
shooting had been recovered, but wouldn't say where.

It was a day of rumours and tension at the crime scene. Cheliak said there
was no evidence to back up reports that shots had been fired at the Roszko
farm Saturday, that two people were taken into custody or that an officer
had been wounded.

With media photographers nearby, police at one point stopped a man in a
truck heading toward the farm and at least one officer pointed a rifle at
him. Cheliak wouldn't discuss it.

His comments came as spiritual leaders in Mayerthorpe said grief over the
slayings was turning into anger and frustration.

"There is anger in the community. Primarily it is directed at Mr. Roszko,"
said Pastor Arnold Lotholz.

Lotholz, who leads the town's Pentecostal congregation, said the anger is
also directed against a justice system that "has let us down again."

Mayerthorpe Mayor Albert Schalm said he doesn't want anyone to target the
Roszko family. "I hope no one will be lashing out." he said.

Mayor Trevor Thain of nearby Whitecourt, where one of the officers was
stationed, said there has been a growing tribute of teddy bears, flowers
and candles in front of the detachment. A local bank has set up a donation
fund for Const. Anthony Gordon's children.

Pastor Wendell Wiebe of the Baptist Church in Mayerthorpe said he has been
counselling high school students since the shooting.

"They were in shock," he said. "Maybe that's the case for the next little
while. Then will come the emotions, the sorrow, the anger. That's when my
life will get very busy."

One man who came to place flowers on the growing floral tribute in front of
Mayerthorpe's one-storey brick RCMP detachment offered advice to the
grieving community.

"You can be angry all you want, but it's not going to change what's
happened," said Axel Axmann from nearby Edson, Alta.

Thoughts were also turning to funerals for Gordon, Leo Johnston, 32, Brock
Myrol, 29, and Peter Schiemann, 25. Individual services were being planned
for this week and a large memorial was being organized by the RCMP.

Johnston's family, who come from Lac la Biche, Alta., asked the media in a
statement to focus on the lost officers and not the marijuana grow
operations or the laws surrounding them.

Myrol's mother, however, demanded action.

"Prime Minister Paul Martin, we depend on you and we expect you to change
the laws and give the courts real power," Colleen Myrol said outside her
home in Red Deer, Alta. "Give the power back to the police."

A spokesman for Martin's office said the prime minister plans to visit
Alberta this week.

As people looked for somewhere to lay blame, the search warrant indicated
Roszko was a demonstrably violent man up to the day he died.

It shows Mayerthorpe Mounties were called at 3:20 p.m. Wednesday by a
bailiff trying to seize a truck from Roszko. Martin and Schiemann drove to
his farm near Rochfort Bridge, about 130 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

The bailiff told the officers a man had come out of a Quonset hut on the
farm, shouted at him, and released two "Rottweiler-type" dogs before
driving away in the pickup.

The bailiff and officers found "several brand-new trucks in pieces" in the
Quonset shed along with evidence of a pot-growing operation.

The grow operation was investigated that night, but the stolen property
case was left to Thursday morning.

Two officers stayed behind to guard the farm overnight. Two more arrived in
the morning, just minutes before the shooting began.