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Asher
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Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:34
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http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...?hub=TopStories
quote:
Four Alberta RCMP officers killed during raid
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.
RCMP Commanding Officer Bill Sweeney says a fifth person was killed at the scene, though he wouldn't confirm it was the gunman.
In an early evening news conference from Mayerthorpe, 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."
Martin was kept informed of the developing events during phone conversations Thursday with RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli.
The prime minister was expected to call for a moment of silence Friday before delivering a speech to the Liberal party national convention in Ottawa.
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. |
Damn.
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mrmitchell
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It's awful, but the US isn't the only country where this kind of crap happens. That's a strange feeling to feel sad and relieved that you're not alone.
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Asher
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Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:34
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http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/a...reut/index.html
quote:
Four Mounties die in shootout
Friday, March 4, 2005 Posted: 0259 GMT (1059 HKT)
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) -- Four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers were shot and killed during a raid on a marijuana-growing operation in rural Alberta Thursday, in one of the bloodiest days in the history of the national police force, a senior official said.
A suspect in the shootout that erupted inside a large farm building that police were investigating also died when he turned his rifle on himself, said Bill Sweeney, commanding officer of the RCMP in Alberta.
"The loss of four officers is unprecedented in recent history in Canada. I'm told you have to go back to about 1885 in the RCMP history during the Northwest Rebellion to have a loss of this magnitude," Sweeney told reporters in the town of Mayerthorpe, about 140 km (90 miles) northwest of Edmonton.
"It's devastating."
The Mounties' names were not released. They were described as junior members of the force that has long been one of Canada's most famous national symbols.
In the late morning, the officers, armed with handguns, entered a large metal hut as part of a stakeout that began the night before when they came under fire from what police said was a man armed with a rifle.
In response, the force called in its SWAT team and major crime units and closed the airspace over the area. It requested the Edmonton city police department helicopter as well as armored personnel vehicles from Edmonton's armed forces base.
In mid-afternoon, police surrounding and stormed the building only to find the bodies of the officers and the suspect, Cpl. Wayne Oakes said.
The suspect may have entered to find the officers inside, then opened fire, Oakes said.
Police have been cracking down on illicit marijuana "grow-ops" that have sprung up across Alberta. Many of the operations targeted by the so-called police "Green Teams" are said to be connected with organized crime.
"The issue of grow-ops is not a ma-and-pa industry as we've been seeing for a number of years. These are major serious threats to our society and they are major serious threats to the men and women on the front line who have to deal with them," RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli said in Ottawa.
The federal government has angered police organizations and U.S. officials by planning to introduce legislation that would decriminalize marijuana possession.
It has been 120 years, during the long rebellion by Metis and Indians in western Canada, since so many national police officers have been shot and killed.
In 1963, four were killed in a plane crash in Yukon. In 1958, five died when their boat sank in Ontario.
In a statement, Prime Minister Paul Martin said: "Canadians are shocked by this brutality, and join me in condemning the violent acts that brought about these deaths." |
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04-03-2005 06:13
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