Lee-Anne Goodman
Canadian Press


Tuesday, March 08, 2005


From the first word of the fatal shootings of four RCMP officers in rural Alberta last week, the spotlight was turned on marijuana grow-ops -- the dangers they posed, the tougher laws needed to combat them.

Within hours, politicians, police, pot activists and even the father of
killer James Roszko pointed both to marijuana itself and the illegal trade in the drug as major players in the deadly chain of events.

RCMP officials said from the outset that their men were killed in a grow-op raid. William Roszko said his son was never the same after he started smoking "that crazy dope" as a teenager. The Marijuana Party said the shootings underscored the need to legalize pot and wipe out the black market. Police and some politicians argued just the opposite, saying the tragedy proved that any move to legalize weed was madness.

It now appears the focus on grow-ops was misplaced. In fact, RCMP Commissoner Guiliano Zaccardelli said in an interview with the National Post on Monday that he was too quick to make the link to marijuana and had acted on incomplete information.

Alan Young, a lawyer and longtime proponent of legalizing marijuana, said it was an inappropriate knee-jerk reaction.

"It was shameful and disrespectful both on the side of the state and on the side of the activists, who felt they had to respond to the state," said Young.

"Four police officers were dead and it was alarming to see it turn into a propaganda play right off the bat. There is really nothing about this case that should cause someone to develop public policy one way or the other. This case is about how to deal with psychopathic people who have long histories with the law."

Young isn't alone in his distaste. Letters to newspapers and callers to TV and radio shows buzzed Monday along similar lines.

In a letter to the Edmonton Journal, a reader scoffed at Premier Ralph Klein's appeal to the federal government to drop any plans to decriminalize marijuana in the wake of the incident.

"This idiot would have killed over a littering ticket," Allan Wood wrote, referring to Roszko. "For Klein to push his agenda on pot this way is ridiculous."

A caller to CBC Newsworld echoed that sentiment: "The issue is about a crazy guy with a gun," he said.

Indeed, it now appears growing marijuana was only one of the problems that tormented Roszko.

Police have downplayed the fact that the 46-year-old convicted pedophile with a long history of violence and a high-powered assault weapon had a substantial grow-op on his property.

[Ooops... Where did this talk of "assault weapons" suddenly come from?

Assault weapons were TOTALLY banned in Canada over a decade ago, and were sent to the grinders.

There IS, however, one group in Canada that has ready and easy assess to such weapons, and that is the RCMP/CSIS, and Military - BOTH of which were at the remote scene that day.  [See photos of police openly carrying fully automatic weapons at a high school]

If it turns out that the RCMP officers were shot with an assault weapon, we have yet ANOTHER piece of evidence that suggests the deaths of these officers was committed by the police themselves. Is this where this talk is heading? Sure appears that way....]

The initial search warrant mentioned about 20 mature marijuana plants growing in pots. But a subsequent bulletin said 280 plants were found, along with and $8,000 worth of growing equipment and a stolen generator valued at $30,000.

RCMP also say they say they found "several brand-new trucks in pieces" in a metal shed on the property -- evidence of a suspected chop-shop operation dealing in stolen vehicles and parts.

Whatever his criminal activities, by all accounts Roszko was a ticking time bomb with a hatred of police and a history of mental illness that went unchecked despite the entire town of Mayerthorpe, Alta., living in terror of him.

That didn't stop the New York Times from weighing in on Sunday and painting the shootings as almost entirely grow-op-related.

The Times quoted Leigh H. Winchell, special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle, as saying the killings in Alberta last week were stark evidence of "how much money is involved and the lengths to which these criminals are willing to go to protect it."

He added: "It's a very dark day for all of us."

Bonnie Burstow, a senior lecturer at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education who specializes in drug policy, calls that kind of reaction from police ironic.

"It was anti-drug hysteria at play in the hours and days after
the shootings, or what I should say is anti-drug-not-sanctioned-by-the-state hysteria," said Burstow.

"Because let's face it: there's no bigger pusher than the state. There are far more dangerous and mind-altering drugs than marijuana being pushed on us every day by huge pharmaceutical companies, with the blessings of our doctors and the government. And no one's raiding the drug companies."

[And just look at the lengths these criminals are willing to go to protect it.]

Ottawa lawyer Eugene Oscapella, one of the founders of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy, fears some dangerous repercussions as a result of the swift finger-pointing at marijuana grow-ops last week.

"You are going to see more violent raids now as police point to what happened in Alberta as proof that the people operating grow-ops are armed and dangerous and possibly crazy," he said.

"That may lead to the militarization of the illegal drug trade -- police
have bigger weapons and use more violent tactics, so growers may then arm themselves. And all the state really has to do to end this insanity is get rid of the lucrative black market that encourages large grow-ops. The economies of prohibition are pretty plain -- you don't have to be a brilliant economist to get this."

http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=3bf85834-4d2e-49a4-b640-8b9c0257fb41
 

WE PREDICTED IT HERE FIRST FOLKS..... THE RCMP ARE NOW FINALLY ADMITTING THAT DEAD OFFICERS WERE MURDERED BY A PERSON WITH AN AUTOMATIC WEAPON.  WEAPONS THE RCMP HAVE EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO!

Last Updated Mon, 21 Mar 2005 CBC News

EDMONTON - RCMP are still trying to piece together [their lies concerning] what happened in a shed on a farm near Mayerthorpe, Alta., on March 3, when four Mounties and another man were shot to death.

RCMP released a detailed timeline of the events around the incident on Monday, but left big gaps as to what actually happened in the Quonset hut where the five men died.

They are waiting for forensic results before releasing any details about the actual circumstances around the deaths on James Roszko's farm.

"There are many unanswered questions," Supt. Marty Cheliak told reporters.

Const. Peter Schiemann, Const. Brock Myrol, Const. Anthony Gordon, Const. Leo Johnston and Roszko were found dead in the building on March 3.

But Cheliak said Roszko was carrying at least three firearms, including a fully automatic rifle, a handgun and another long gun during the incident.

[It should be noted that it took WEEKS for the police to put forward this NEW claim that the "dead shooter" was carrying THREE weapons - one of which they now assert was a FULLY automatic "banned" weapon.

Now they want us to believe he snuck onto the heavily guarded property carrying THREE weapons on his person, including TWO large rifles. Why wasn't his "new" weapon shown to media, or even referred to, on or about the date of the shooting? Is the media pressuring for and demanding access to autopsy reports for this latest admission by police?

This new information lends significant credibility [along with the other facts already established] to the idea being put forward that this shooting was an inside job, and that these officers were in fact murdered by CSIS members with automatic weapons, for the purpose of increasing legislative powers and public sympathy to a department recently exposed for their ties to drug syndicates and pedophiles.]

FROM MARCH 3, 2005: 4 RCMP officers killed on Alberta farm
He also revealed that there were 280 marijuana plants on the farm. Police had been criticized when they called the farm a grow-op after reports said they found just a handful of plants.

Cheliak laid out an hour-by-hour timeline that started on March 2, when two bailiffs went to the farm to retrieve a vehicle.

They called for RCMP help and Roszko left the farm driving erratically in a white pickup. Despite reports of sightings in the area, RCMP officers did not see him again until the next day, on his farm.

The officers found a "chop shop," where stolen cars are cut up for parts, as well as the [20] marijuana plants.

The bailiffs then left and the RCMP got a search warrant.

The situation was deemed to be within the capacity of the Mayerthorpe unit, Cheliak said.

Officers guarded the farm overnight after the bailiffs left.

The next morning, two auto-squad officers arrived at the farm and saw four others – Schiemann, Myrol, Gordon and Johnston – enter the hut. "Gunfire was heard from inside," Cheliak said.

[If "gunfire was heard", we should have known THAT DAY if automatic weapons had been fired.]

One of the auto-squad officers saw Roszko leaving with three guns, and exchanged shots with him. Roszko then re-entered the building.

[Notice now we are being told an officer actually saw Roszko with THREE guns, yet the media was told [for weeks thereafter] he was armed with a bolt action hunting rifle.]

The officers received no response when they shouted. They called for backup, and early in the afternoon, the emergency response team entered the hut and found the dead officers.

Cheliak said he wanted to put some speculation to rest:

No one was shot outside the Quonset hut.
No bodies are buried on the property.
No charges have been laid.
The shootings took place at the same time.
He thanked the public for its outpouring of support.
An RCMP spokesman said the investigation could take months.

[What "speculation" was he putting to rest with his comment about an "outpouring of support"? Was he suggesting the media reported support for the shooting of these officers, or was perhaps this a Freudian slip as to the motive of the shooting?

No doubt it will take months...... because it will likely take them months to get their chain of lies in order. No doubt this process will take the "Public Safety" minister a good deal longer, which is why she seems to be suddenly mute on the issue.]

http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/AOL/canada/national/2005/03/21/rcmp-shootings050321.html

See how BC Government made major NEW policy announcement on stopping GROW-OPS, the SAME DAY officers were murdered by police weapon!