FOUR MOUNTIES SHOT DEAD

Grow-Op Killings Worst Loss of Officers Since 1885 Rebellion

MAYERTHORPE, Alta. -- Four RCMP officers -- including three who formed
almost the entire membership of a rural detachment -- were shot and
killed yesterday in one of the darkest days in RCMP history. Not since
the 1885 Northwest Rebellion have so many Canadian police officers
been killed at once while on duty. The unprecedented tragedy shook the
RCMP from its top officers to its junior constables and it prompted
condolences from everyone from the prime minister on down.

The officers -- one of whom was identified by his family as Const.
Brock Myrol, 29, -- were investigating a suspected marijuana growing
operation at a farm near Mayerthorpe, a community about 130 kilometres
northwest of Edmonton.

RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli, in an emotional news
conference in Ottawa yesterday evening, confirmed the deaths.

"It is with profound sadness that I confirm that four members of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police were killed today in service to our
country," said Zaccardelli. "It is an unprecedented and unspeakable
loss."

It was the worst police shooting since the Northwest Rebellion, the
second of the Metis uprisings led by Louis Riel in central
Saskatchewan. Twelve officers died in that clash.

The next-worst police shooting was in 1935 when four officers --
including three Mounties -- were killed over a four-day period as
police pursued a group of young bandits across the three Prairie provinces.

Prime Minister Paul Martin expressed his condolences from Ottawa,
where the Liberal party policy convention held a moment of silence for
the slain officers.

"Canadians are shocked by this brutality, and join me in condemning
the violent acts that brought about these deaths," said Martin in a
statement.

"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."

RCMP say three members who died were from the Mayerthorpe detachment
and one from a detachment in nearby Whitecourt. A family friend said
Myrol had started with the Mayerthorpe detachment on Feb. 14. He was
originally from Red Deer, Alta. Myrol's grandmother, Frances Myrol,
80, of Outlook, Sask., said her grandson, who had given his fiancee a
ring just this past Christmas, had talked about the RCMP since he was
a boy.

"He was a very kind fellow," she said. "He got along with everyone. He
had a dog, black and white."

She said he realized it was a dangerous profession but "he felt there
was danger in anything you did."

Myrol's cousin, David Myrol, a prominent Edmonton lawyer, said the
family is very close, with the slain officer at its very nucleus.

"We were all very proud of Brock," he said yesterday. "He was such an
important part of the family."

The young man's family is anxious to know all the circumstances
surrounding yesterday's shootings, he said.

"We'll be asking questions about what happened," said Myrol, a partner
with Mclennan Ross. "There's no doubt."

The other officers were not immediately identified.

The officers were guarding the scene of an investigation at a large
quonset hut at a farm in Rochfort Bridge near Mayerthorpe yesterday
morning when shots were fired by a lone gunman who apparently caught
the officers by surprise. The gunman died at the scene. "We're all in
terrible shock and mourning as you can imagine," said assistant RCMP
Commissioner Bill Sweeney of K Division in Alberta.

"This is a tremendous loss," added Alberta Solicitor General Harvey
Cenaiko, who was visibly shaken. "It was a senseless act."

The prime minister also expressed his condolences to the families of
the four officers, who were all male junior members.

"On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to express my
condolences to the families of the officers who were killed as they
carried out their duty in enforcing the law and protecting the
public," said Martin.

"We must respect the process of the medical examiner," said RCMP Cpl.
Wayne Oakes.

Two of the officers were at the farmhouse overnight, guarding the
scene in an investigation that also involved stolen property, said
Oakes. The other two officers joined them in the morning. Other
Mounties who were on the scene heard shots at 10 a.m., and the
decision was made to call in help, said Oakes.

Just after 2 p.m., officers stormed the building and found the bodies
of the four officers and the suspect, James Roszko.

"There are four dead," an officer said at the police operations base
at a Legion hall in Mayerthorpe, as relatives of the deceased officers
arrived mid-afternoon. One woman collapsed in tears after speaking
with one of the officers, then got in her car and drove away.

Officers and soldiers dressed in bullet-proof vests and carrying
high-powered rifles came and went from the operations base, many with
tears in their eyes. More than 100 officers were on the scene, along
with soldiers from the Canadian military, who provided three Bison
armoured vehicles.

There was confusion throughout the day after Cenaiko told reporters
that officers were executing a search warrant when they were met with
gunfire. The four officers had failed to respond to their radios after
conducting the raid.

Mid-day, Oakes said there was reason to believe a lone male suspect
was armed with a high-powered rifle.

RCMP set up roadblocks around the farm and the air space over the area
was closed throughout the day. A television station in Edmonton
reported that neighbours believe a man tried to flee the property at
high speed Wednesday night.

Maj. Scott Lundy, a spokesman for Edmonton Garrison, said two armoured
personnel carriers, an ambulance and about 20 military personnel were
dispatched from the military base, but about two hours later, police
told the military their help was no longer needed.

People in the town of 1,570 huddled around radios in the hardware
store and by their pickup trucks as the tragedy unfolded. At the end
of the day, the flag in front of the local Legion was lowered to half
mast.

Emotions ran high, with local residents striking out at reporters and
photographers who had descended on the town. One CBC cameraman was
reportedly punched in the eye by a relative of one of the deceased
officers.

Mayerthorpe Mayor Albert Schalm said: "I'm sick. I don't know what to
tell you. It shocks me that this could even happen."

Roszko was well known around town as being violent and mentally
unstable. "Cops have known about him for a long time," said Pat Burns,
a local carpenter. "The justice system doesn't have the balls to do
what needs to be done."

In Whitecourt, Mayor Trevor Thain said. "The detachment is a great
bunch of people and I'm sure I can't even begin to imagine how they
feel right now."

Thain said the Whitecourt detachment has about 15 officers, while the
Mayerthorpe detachment only has about three or four members. Those
numbers don't include a highway patrol unit, which is administered
through the Whitecourt detachment.

The officers who were shot were not part of the drug
squad.

Yesterday's shooting was the first time in nearly 20 years that
multiple Canadian police officers were slain in action. On July 4,
1985, Const. Jacques Giguere and his partner, Const. Yves Tetu, of the
Quebec Police Service were gunned down as they investigated the
tripping of a burglar alarm at a medical equipment warehouse.

Forty officers in Canada have died in the line of duty since 2000,
including seven in 2004.

Reaction to the deaths came in from across the country.

Alberta Premier Ralph Klein was shaken by the deaths.

"The violent slaying of four Alberta RCMP officers in the line of duty
is a crime of horrific proportions. It saddens me beyond words. Their
loss is immeasurable. Immeasurable, too, is the sympathy and respect
that all Albertans feel for the four lost officers and for those who
knew them and loved them. These four officers gave their lives for the
most noble of causes: upholding the law and maintaining the peace of
their community. It saddens us that four brave people have been torn
from their families while selflessly serving their community."
Conservative party Leader Stephen Harper also expressed his
condolences yesterday.

"This incident serves as a poignant reminder of the men and women in
law enforcement across our country who risk their lives daily."

[Sidebar]

RAID ON GROW-OP STARTED WEDNESDAY

SOME key events in the fatal shooting yesterday of four RCMP officers in
northern Alberta:

March 2, mid-day: RCMP in Mayerthorpe, Alta., who are investigating a
report of stolen property and a marijuana grow operation, set up a
watch at a farm near the village of Rochfort Bridge. Two officers
guard the scene overnight.

March 3, morning: Additional officers arrive.

10 a.m.: Gunfire erupts inside a quonset shed on the property. Four
officers inside are killed by a suspect with a high-powered rifle. At
least two other officers on site are able to take cover. At least one
of them returns fire.

In the following hours: RCMP and city police from Edmonton and Calgary
flood into the area and set up a secure perimeter. Airspace over the
area is closed as a precaution.

12:30 p.m.: RCMP issue a call for assistance from soldiers at Edmonton
Garrison. Two armoured personnel carriers, an ambulance and about 20
military personnel are dispatched. The military officials are later
told their help is no longer needed.

2:20 p.m.: Emergency responders enter the quonset shed, and find the
bodies of four RCMP officers and the male shooter.