IN THE LINE OF DUTY

It seems trite, cliched and insignificant to say this in light of
yesterday's multiple shootings near Mayerthorpe that left four RCMP
officers dead, but it's no less true: policing is a very dangerous
business.

It's one in which each and every officer who buttons up his or her
uniform on a daily basis willingly puts his or her life on the line in
order to protect all of us.

It is, to be blunt, the kind of job - and the kind of risk - that the
rest of us simply cannot comprehend.

We'll go to work, do our jobs and go home.

In the day-to-day stresses of the working world for the rest of us,
nothing compares to what a cop might have to face in his or her day:
being threatened with a knife by a crazed lunatic high on drugs or
assaulted by a career criminal who doesn't want to go back to the
slammer again.

And, of course, there are very few people out there reading this who
have to worry that they'll be shot dead during the course of the day
just for doing their jobs.

But for police officers, that's a risk they face every singleday.

And four RCMP officers yesterday made the ultimate sacrifice in the
line of duty.

In the coming days, the events that led up to the final moments of the
lives of those four Mounties will be dissected, criticized and
second-guessed. There will be lots of questions asked about James
Roszko, the longtime criminal who gunned down the four Mounties before
ending up dead himself.

Some are already questioning Canada's drug laws in light of
yesterday's shooting, while others are questioning Canada's firearms
registry.

But injecting partisan politics into this tragedy so quickly is crass
and offensive. And the legitimate questions surrounding this terrible
tragedy will be dealt with in due time.

Right now, the only question that the families of the officers care
about is why their loved ones had to die.

We have no answers for that. But we share their grief and we mourn the
loss of the four police officers who were killed in the line of duty -
cops who were, like thousands of other police officers across Canada
yesterday, just doing their jobs.

Prime Minister Paul Martin said last night, "This terrible event is a
reminder of the sacrifice and bravery of the men and women who serve
in our national police force, and of the dangerous circumstances which
they often confront, in order to make Canada a safer place."

Indeed.

We keep the families of the four slain officers in our thoughts and
prayers.

Our deepest condolences to them all.