Pubdate: Tue, 08 Mar 2005
Source: Windsor Star (CN ON)
Copyright: The Windsor Star 2005
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/windsor/windsorstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/501
Author: Allan Woods, CanWest News Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Rochfort+Bridge (Rochfort Bridge)

RCMP BOSS SAYS HE SPOKE TOO SOON ON MURDERS, GROW-OP

Probe Blaming Deranged Man, Not Marijuana

OTTAWA -- Canada's top police officer said Monday he was too quick to
condemn a marijuana grow operation as the root cause in the deaths of
four RCMP officers last week.

RCMP commissioner Guiliano Zaccardelli said in an interview that his
condemnation of grow-ops just hours after the shootings may have been
inappropriate because police and politicians did not have full details
of the particular case and the background of cop-killer James Roszko.

Zaccardelli and Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, his political
boss as the minister of public safety and emergency preparedness,
spoke of the scourge of marijuana grow operations within hours of the
killings and the need for tougher penalties for those who operate them.

"I gave what I believed was the best information I had knowing full
well that at that time I didn't have all the information," a contrite
Zaccardelli said.

"Clearly, there's a lot of things in there that, in hindsight, we will
have to look at in a different perspective."

Police in Mayerthorpe, Alta., first attended Roszko's home last
Wednesday with a court order to seize stolen auto parts. While there,
they discovered what a search warrant said were 20 "mature" marijuana
plants, "several pots containing dirt with stems coming out of them
numbering close to 100," and a smell "consistent of a marijuana grow
operation."

They returned the next day -- the day of the killings -- with a
warrant to search for the drug outfit and seized 280 plants, $8,000
worth of growing equipment and a generator worth $30,000, the Edmonton
Journal reported.

But in the days since the murders, it appears they were the work of a
deranged man with a long criminal history, but hardly that of a
gangster protecting his cash crop.

"None of these are simple issues. This requires some reflection and
discussion," Zaccardelli said. "Let's honour the memory of these four
fallen police officers and help their families get through it, and
then we need to carry on the debate after this."

Zaccardelli's comments followed statements in the House of Commons by
all four political parties commemorating the deaths of constables
Peter Schiemann, 25, Anthony Gordon, 28, Brock Myrol, 29, and Leo
Johnston, 32.

Last Thursday night, McLellan said the officers "were killed in an
operation involving, as far as we know at this point, an illegal grow
operation."

McLellan would not discuss Zaccardelli's comments Monday.

"The first thing that happened was that everybody acted based on a
lack of information," said Randy White, a tough-on-crime Conservative
MP from British Columbia. "Yeah, they did react, but based on
information they didn't have."

Prime Minister Paul Martin, McLellan and Zaccardelli will travel to
Edmonton Thursday for a national memorial service. Following that,
Zaccardelli said, he will be making a "more extensive" public
statement on the killings.

All four political parties spoke Monday in the House of Commons in
honour of the four dead officers.

McLellan, an MP from Edmonton Centre, southeast of where the killings
took place, said she was personally shaken by the incident because it
occurred in her home province.

"These four officers served their community," she said, "but they were
also part of their community."

There were hints that McLellan and the country's national police force
could come under heavy scrutiny in coming days.

"All Canadians are asking, 'Why?' Those answers will have to wait for
another day," said Jack Layton, the leader of the New Democratic Party.

"The time is coming to understand the implications of their deaths and
the public policy involved," said Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.

Politically, it appears the federal gun registry could bear the brunt
of the fallout in the days to come. Roszko had a long criminal record
and should not have had access to weapons.

There have also been questions raised about the level of training and
preparation given to the officers guarding Roszko's property.

A bill to reform laws governing use and cultivation of marijuana is
currently under parliamentary review. It would increase penalties for
those who grow the drug, but proposed decriminalizing possession of
small amounts.

Opposition Quiet

Opposition parties in the House of Commons declined out of respect for
the four dead officers to use Monday's question period to probe the
initial reactions of RCMP commissioner Guiliano Zaccardelli and Deputy
PM Anne McLellan. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake