Sad Day in Canada

[Lisa]

I am speechless, my cousin is with this detachment and thankfully he was not involved. My uncle was beside himself all afternoon.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1109878667829_105287867/?hub=Canada
Four Alberta RCMP officers killed during raid

var byString = ""; var sourceString = "CTV.ca News Staff"; if ((sourceString != "") && (byString != "")) { document.write(byString + ", "); } else { document.write(byString); } CTV.ca News Staff

Four police officers are dead after conducting a raid on a marijuana grow operation northwest of Edmonton on Thursday.

At approximately 10 a.m. MT, a shootout broke out between police and a male suspect at a farmhouse in Rochfort Bridge near the community of Mayerthorpe, about 130 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

Alberta Solicitor General Harvey Cenaiko says the officers were executing a search warrant when they were met with gunfire.

RCMP spokesman Cpl. Wayne Oakes confirms that the officers were conducting an investigation at a rural residence. He said there was reason to believe a lone male suspect was armed with a high-powered rifle.

A government source told The Canadian Press that a lone male suspect shot the officers with the high-powered rifle before killing himself.

A fifth RCMP officer, who was in the area on an unrelated stolen property investigation, discovered the bodies, the source said.

In an early evening news conference from Mayerthorpe, RCMP Commanding Officer Bill Sweeney said: "As you can well imagine, the loss of four police officers is unprecedented in recent history in Canada. . . . It's devastating."

He added that not since the Northwest Rebellion of 1885 have so many police officers been killed in the line of duty.

The RCMP has not released the names of the deceased officers, as they are still in the process of notifying family members. Sweeney said three of the officers were based in Mayerthorpe, and one was from Whitecourt, Alberta.

In a statement, Prime Minister Paul Martin said:

"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.

"At this moment of difficulty and loss, you are in our thoughts and prayers."

Maj. Scott Lundy, a spokesman for Edmonton Garrison, said the military received a request just after 12:30 p.m. MT from the RCMP for assistance.

He said two armoured personnel carriers, an ambulance and about 20 military personnel were dispatched from the military base shortly after that.

But about two hours later, police told the military their help was no longer needed.

Alberta Premier Ralph Klein said he was surprised and saddened that such a tragedy would occur in the quiet farming community.

"I would hope that it would serve as a lesson for all those who want to enter into something illegal not to do so," he said.

 

[Flatlander]

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[Bammx2]

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[Feisty Mouse]

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[Cryozombie]

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[Tgace]

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[TigerWoman]

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[kid]

I got to say something. I feel really bad for the each of the officers families, It is a great loss. I also feel for the gunmans family whom for all we know was being supported by this man. And that could be why he opened fire on the police. He might have thought he was protecting his families welfare or anything like that. There is probably unseen factors in this whole deal and i don't like it one bit. I trully is a sad day in Canada. You know this never would have happened if marijuana was legalized. But i don't want to go there in this thread. God bless those four officers and please show mercy on the other man.



Kid

 

[shesulsa]

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[Tgace]

I got to say something. I feel really bad for the each of the officers families, It is a great loss. I also feel for the gunmans family whom for all we know was being supported by this man. And that could be why he opened fire on the police. He might have thought he was protecting his families welfare or anything like that. There is probably unseen factors in this whole deal and i don't like it one bit. I trully is a sad day in Canada. You know this never would have happened if marijuana was legalized. But i don't want to go there in this thread. God bless those four officers and please show mercy on the other man.



Kid

Supporting his family by something he KNEW was illegal and KNEW he was going to get in trouble for. If you are going to play the game you should accept the consequences....this guy could just as easily started shooting because he had a traffic warrant, its not about Marijuana, its about doing something illegal, knowing its illegal and being willing to kill instead of facing the music for your choices. Protecting his families welfare? Did he think he'd just keep killing all the cops that showed up so he could keep on farming his weed? He wasnt thinking much at all past "**** im going to go to jail!"

 

[Lisa]

They have update the story from the link I posted. I took this excerpt...

Police would not confirm the identity of the suspect, but CTV's Edmonton affiliate, CFRN, spoke with a man who identified himself as the gunman's father.

Bill Roszko said his son, Jim, was the shooter. He added Jim had an angry streak as far back as he can remember: "Because of the drugs, you know, and the bad company with bad boys . . . dragged him off the good tracks," he told CFRN.

"I don't want to have him as my son for what he was like, and the way things ended up. He is not my son."

CFRN reports Jim Roszko was the youngest in a large family, and that his troubled life led others in the family to stay away from him.

Obviously the father of the gunman is distraught and upset by what happened. I hope the gunman's family can find peace someday.

 

[RandomPhantom700]

One guy with a rifle took out four cops? I don't know what's more surprising, that or the fact that this is the largest number of cops lost since the 1885 rebellion.

And of course, condolensces to the family and all.....

 

[Ray]

... I trully is a sad day in Canada. You know this never would have happened if marijuana was legalized...

What are you saying? Do you mean that the marijuana growers were forced into committing murder? Do you think that "magically" the dope growers would have been turned into upstanding citizens? Or are you saying that upstanding citizens would take over a legalized marijuana industry and the bad people would sink back into the shadows of another illegal industry?

 

[Tgace]

One guy with a rifle took out four cops? I don't know what's more surprising, that or the fact that this is the largest number of cops lost since the 1885 rebellion.

And of course, condolensces to the family and all.....

One guy (in I believe Alabama) took out 3 US cops with an SKS while serving a warrant last year...

 

[Lisa]

One guy with a rifle took out four cops? I don't know what's more surprising, that or the fact that this is the largest number of cops lost since the 1885 rebellion.

And of course, condolensces to the family and all.....

It is my understanding that they were at the farm yard the day before to serve the warrant and no one was there. Two of the police officers stayed the night to keep an eye on the Quanset just in case someone came back. The next morning the two other officers joined them. Perhaps their guard was down thinking they were alone and that there wasn't any threat. Either way, we now have 5 families that are dealing with a great loss and a lot of heartache.

 

[ginshun]

My condolences to the families.

 

[hardheadjarhead]

"I don't want to have him as my son for what he was like, and the way things ended up. He is not my son."

CFRN reports Jim Roszko was the youngest in a large family, and that his troubled life led others in the family to stay away from him.

That might say a lot as to why this kid was troubled. Sounds like he had one Hell of a loyal and loving father...a real nurturer who was patient and loving in dealing with his son's challenges in life.

Goodness, I hope people here can recognize sarcasm.

This is a tragedy. Let's not get into making it a morality play where we squabble about who were good guys and bad guys.



Regards,


Steve

 

[kid]

What are you saying? Do you mean that the marijuana growers were forced into committing murder? Do you think that "magically" the dope growers would have been turned into upstanding citizens? Or are you saying that upstanding citizens would take over a legalized marijuana industry and the bad people would sink back into the shadows of another illegal industry?

Im saying if marijuana was legal why would he have shot at the officers. And you can't compair a feild of marijuana to a traffic warrent there is a big difference in the jail time there. iI do beleive the man made the wrong decision to start shooting, but that is done already we can only try to prevent it later. Good luck trying to stop drug trafficing without making it easier to get at walmart or Holiday gas stations. Instead of some shady charecters basement, or an alley. And you dont know that "the dope growers" won't turn into outstanding citizens, they might and might not.


I beleive that the man was obviously in the wrong and he knew it thats why he poped himself.

 

[Tgace]

That might say a lot as to why this kid was troubled. Sounds like he had one Hell of a loyal and loving father...a real nurturer who was patient and loving in dealing with his son's challenges in life.

Goodness, I hope people here can recognize sarcasm.

This is a tragedy. Let's not get into making it a morality play where we squabble about who were good guys and bad guys.



Regards,


Steve

Yeah a guy who mows down four cops is just a misunderstood person who had a bad childhood and an un-loving father. The cops were probably dirty anyway. I mean they were after a pot grower after all. The stuff should be legal....:shrug:

 

[Tgace]

Im saying if marijuana was legal why would he have shot at the officers. And you can't compair a feild of marijuana to a traffic warrent there is a big difference in the jail time there. iI do beleive the man made the wrong decision to start shooting, but that is done already we can only try to prevent it later. Good luck trying to stop drug trafficing without making it easier to get at walmart or Holiday gas stations. Instead of some shady charecters basement, or an alley. And you dont know that "the dope growers" won't turn into outstanding citizens, they might and might not.


I beleive that the man was obviously in the wrong and he knew it thats why he poped himself.

The traffic warrant example was to say that the issue is that its not about "legalizing" anything to prevent violence. If pot was legal this guy probably would have been doing something else illegal. He probably would have shot because he had a traffic warrant...get it? To automatically paint him as some poor desparate family guy growing weed to support his family kinda shows a prejudice IMO.