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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No way to predict 'insane' acts, RCMP boss says: Families of slain officers demand changes to ensure deaths not in vain -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There was no way to predict the shooting deaths of four RCMP officers in Mayerthorpe, Alta., but the force's commissioner revealed yesterday that investigators went so far as to interrogate a fellow police officer who grew up with the killer before launching the fatal raid. Police were well-versed in the police-hater James Roszko's criminal past and Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli said more questions surround Canada's criminal justice system than the force's handling of the incident. "Questions have begun about how an individual like James Roszko has been dealt with by the criminal justice system, even by law enforcement," Commissioner Zaccardelli said. "Once again the issues of civil liberties, jurisprudence and human rights and mental health are all parts of the mix. "An ordinary and manageable police investigation took a random and unexpected turn to the unmanageable and tragic." Commissioner Zaccardelli added: "There is no possible way to plan for, or manage, the insane behaviours of an individual who has crossed the line from criminal to stalker, from suspect to enemy." As the focus of the RCMP's worst tragedy in generations moves away from Mr. Roszko's Quonset hut and into the domain of the nation's lawmakers, Alberta Conservative MP Rob Merrifield said the families of the dead police officers are keen to push for legislative reform to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring. "They're not willing to just say this was a tragic, insane incident," Mr. Merrifield said yesterday in Ottawa. He said they asked him to "help them explain to a country that their deaths can't be in vain and there has to be a public policy change." Constables Brock Myrol, Leo Johnston, Peter Schiemann and Anthony Gordon were killed in a surprise attack while guarding Mr. Roszko's property 130 kilometres northwest of Edmonton during an investigation into stolen automobile parts and a 280-plant marijuana grow operation. Police have determined Mr. Roszko slipped unnoticed onto his property armed with three weapons and killed all four officers before turning the gun on himself. "We've known about this man for a long time. As a matter of fact, when this thing first came to our attention as a simple bailiff seizure, we brought in a member who had grown up and known this man all his life," Commissioner Zaccardelli said. "They talked to him about better understanding the person so they would be able to take appropriate action. His information, his background, his knowledge, his nuances, What type of person (Mr. Roszko) was." He explained the interrogation was part of a larger attempt to prepare for the raid on a man with a long list of charges against him, convictions for sexually assaulting a young child and a court-ordered ban on owning weapons. "Remember," he said, "at one point we had six officers on site and that's an indication of the seriousness of the situation. A senior NCO (non-commissioned officer) had control of the situation. There were patrols out looking for him. There was constant monitoring and radio contact with the members on site and with the detachment. "They know there is potentially some danger. They've dealt with the person before, but they've never had this type of violent confrontation." RCMP investigators from Alberta and British Columbia continue with forensic and background investigations in search of answers to such questions as how Mr. Roszko snuck back on to his property and how he obtained his weapons. The Alberta government has already called a fatality inquiry and Commissioner Zaccardelli said senior RCMP officials plan to conduct an internal review that will include an analysis of "policy and procedural implications from this case." It will touch on the supervision of officers in the field, training, equipment and crisis management, he said. Mr. Merrifield, an MP for the Alberta riding of Yellowhead, said family of the dead officers are so eager to extract a legislative legacy from the deaths that they approached him as early as two weeks ago, during the memorial services for their loved ones. "At one of them, Peter Schiemann's father pulled me off to the side and said, 'I know I probably shouldn't be talking politics at the memorial service for my son, but I'm going to. I want to,' " Mr. Merrifield said, adding the officer's father expressed concern about resources for front-line officers, minimum sentences for serious offenders and the federal gun registry. "I believe
he's earned the right to speak to the nation on these issues," Mr.
Merrifield said. "If we use the incident of the four slain RCMP officers
as a wild man gone crazy and not take the ringing of the bells that show
us we've got some public policy changes to make, then we will be destined
to repeat this, and that cannot be." |