4 Alberta RCMP officers killed during raid

[Sava]

all this over some marijuana

RIP

[techumseh]

Originally posted by Asher

You have to remember this is in Canada NW of Edmonton, I don't think the rural RCMP out there have ever dealt with this before.

It says a lot that they felt they had to call in the military to help with a single gunman.

Not so. Grow ops are big business in Canada, and are increasingly moving into rural areas. The police involved were guarding a grow op raided the day before when they were ambushed by a gunman with a high powered rifle.

[Space05us]

But why didnt they have a SWAT (or Canadian equivalent) team go out there?

Drug operation + Rural Area = the suspects are armed, dangerous, and ready to kill/crazy white folks

[KrazyHorse]

Avatar and location updated

Space, it was only a marijuana farm
You never know when somebod liek that is going to be the one to go over the top at you

[Asher]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Avatar and location updated

Space, it was only a marijuana farm
You never know when somebod liek that is going to be the one to go over the top at you

According to the new information, the raid itself was fine, the 2 officers left to guard it were ambushed.

[KrazyHorse]

hard to guard againtst that sort of thing.

somebody is ill ing to die he can kill a few cops with hi,m/

[KrazyHorse]

I'll remember their contribution as tlpng as I live.

Thank you for your sacrifice.

[Urban Ranger]

RIP

I wonder why didn't they search the place for weapons while they were there?

[Asher]

They probably did. I don't think he got the weapon from there, it sounds like he came back with the weapon.

[Asher]

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/03/03/canada.shooting.reut/index.html

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."

[notyoueither]

It's getting stranger according to reports on the radio.

Late yesterday a sheriff's officer was on the property on some business of the court (seizure?). He saw some strangeness and called the RCMP. Apparently the guy was not there.

The RCMP arrived and found the grow op. They called the guys who handle that. The suspect turned up at some point, but ran away. He was never in custody.

While the 'Green team' was there cleaning up the pot, they found signs of auto theft (chop shop). They called auto theft investigators in Edmonton, but it was late.

The mounties packed up and left, leaving 2 officers to sit on the site until the auto theft people from Edmonton could get there.

There are now conflicting reports of what happened next. All witnesses are dead. It will be some time before we learn the results of the RCMP investigation into what happened exactly, but the latest reports are that he got the first 2 in the building (bodies inside) and then got the next 2 as they arrived (bodies outside).

The next to arrive had the gun fight with him, and then the 4 officers and gunman were later found dead.

Apparently the guy was widely known to be very bad news by people in the area. Since we don't have a death penalty the only good news is that rodent won't be lounging about at taxpayer expense. Good shooting to the mountie who got him.

[Asher]

From what I heard the suspect was injured, limped off inside, crawled in a closet and shot himself.

[notyoueither]

Yep, either bled to death or shot himself. Either way he's dead and couldn't run away again. So he isn't at large and on his way to Mexico, or worse, on a killing spree.

Some people from the area who had run ins with him called into CHED. He sounded like quite a package.

[KrazyHorse]

*******.

What the **** would he get for a grow op and chop shop?

3 years?

Instead he decides to kill four people and end up dead himself.

What a piece of ****.

[notyoueither]

Factoid of the evening... most grow op convictions result in no jail time.