Say their names: Mayerthorpe 20 years after the most violent moment in Canadian law enforcement history

It’s been two decades since the gut-wrenching news shocked the nation: the worst-ever murder in Canadian law enforcement history.

Something about the anniversary can’t slip by unnoticed, out of sight, out of mind.

It’s not just about Fallen Four Memorial Park in Mayerthorpe — the sombre circle of four larger-than-life bronze figures and a monument in the centre with its birds forever in flight.

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It’s not about the sign a few kilometres from town, on a gravel road, warning the curious against trespassing, nor the small farmstead at the end of the driveway where there was once an illegal grow-op and stolen trucks, nor about the arched grey Quonset barn where James Roszko ambushed the uniformed men, killing them with a semi-automatic rifle before shooting himself in the chest on March 3, 2005.

There’s the weapons. A firearms tracing expert told the inquiry Roszko had eight guns at the time of his death. One had been smuggled across the border from the U.S., then stolen from a cabin near Barrhead in 1997.

The semi-automatic rifle emptied during the killing spree was imported into the country by an Edmonton man in the 1980s, then sold to Roszko.

A pistol tucked in Roszko’s belt was purchased at a Utah pawnshop by a friend of Roszko’s in the early 1990s, then bought by Roszko and brought across the border.

The bolt-action rifle on Roszko’s shoulder during the shootings was a registered firearm reported stolen by a relative of Shawn Hennessey’s, who would be convicted as an accomplice for helping Roszko.

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None were legally registered to the perpetrator.

Roszko never had a firearms licence, acquisition certificate or any legally registered firearms. In fact, Roszko was barred from having any firearms or prohibited weapons because of a previous criminal conviction.

Hennessey later admitted to giving a firearm and ammunition to Roszko.

He and his brother-in-law, Dennis Cheeseman, served prison terms for manslaughter for assisting Roszko in the hours leading up to the killings.

It’s none of that, and all of it.

It’s Mayerthorpe.

Remembering the names, the day

Trevor Daroux is assistant commissioner in charge of criminal operations for the Alberta RCMP. He’s in his 37th year of policing, including 27 with the Calgary Police Service, where he finished as a deputy chief.

The first thing he makes clear in a recent interview with Postmedia: “Name them.”

He says the names slowly. Calmly.

Const. Anthony Gordon, 28.

Const. Leo Johnston, 32.

Const. Brock Myrol, 29.

Const. Peter Schiemann, 25.

“It’s really important that we remember those names, the more we can, in recognition of their sacrifice,” Daroux said.

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“We can only imagine the impact on their families and their loved ones and friends. Mayerthorpe itself continues to remember that tragic day and the tragedy that occurred. Each anniversary brings with it different memories.

“It’s never forgotten, and nor should it be. Those lives were lost. Those families, their lives changed forever. The community changed. And any impact on law enforcement never goes away,” he said.

Nothing will repair the harm to loved ones and the community, so it can’t be viewed through that lens.

“We have to be there to support everyone that was hurt and impacted by this event, and that’s where our focus has to be. It’s part of the healing process. It’s a way that we can pay our respects. We never forget the sacrifice that they made. It’s a healing journey for the community, for the families, for law enforcement, for the RCMP,” Daroux said.

“It’s a tragedy that has not been forgotten.”

The unimaginable becomes terribly real

It was one of those days when law enforcement personnel remember where they were when they heard the unimaginable.

Four officers down.

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The very rare, the worst, had become very real.

“I was with Calgary police at the time, and I remember when it was announced what happened and the tragedy,” Daroux said.

“To me, it was the end of innocence for policing.”

After the shock came the soul-searching, the second-guessing, the critical evaluation.

“It wasn’t just limited to the RCMP, but law enforcement across the spectrum looked at this tragedy recognizing that we can’t zero any risk.

“There’s risk associated with this occupation, but how do we actually learn from this tragedy?”

With that terrible catalyst came the realization that great change was required. All needed to come under the lenses of two eras.

Before Mayerthorpe, and after Mayerthorpe.

Training. Tactics. Equipment. Policies. Practices.

There were no specialized emergency response teams. Now, there are three teams.

Undreamt of 20 years ago, a real-time operations centre provides oversight and support for operations on a real-time basis.

A critical incident command program assigns commanders to high-risk events.

Now, much more collaboration amongst enforcement agencies, across the province, across the spectrum.

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Information sharing allows for a more accurate assessment of threat and risk.

“If a bylaw officer is dealing with a dog complaint over and over and becomes concerned with the behaviour of the individual, there’s a way to be able to share that information, so when we are doing a warrant like this or attending a residence, that we have all of the information when we’re doing a threat assessment, and that threat assessment becomes the key to how we’re going to actually respond to events like this,” Daroux said.

Armoured vehicles eliminate the need to be close to a residence to contain it.

“There was a lot of resistance publicly around that and the militarization of police. There (were) concerns around that. But the reality is, when dealing with situations that we’re encountering, and sadly, we’re seeing an increasing number of these, we have to have the right equipment to protect our people as well as protecting the communities that we serve,” he said.

More aerial support, helicopters, aircraft.

Drones.

“How do we use drones to mitigate and minimize some of the risk associated with some of the individuals that we’re dealing with?” Daroux said.

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Now, front-line members get carbine rifles.

“It’s very rare that we use them. It’s rare that they’re needed. But the reality is that there are situations that require their use, and that’s why the change in weaponry,” Daroux said.

“The application of drones eliminates the need for people to go through the bush, to chase someone down, where a drone can actually do that much more safely, to locate people in a much more safe environment,” he said.

The terrible waste of life has lent its own hindsight — questions and answers. Not to ask questions would be tragedy on tragedy.

“We can look at every event, after the fact and say, ‘Well, we could have changed,‘ but at the time, you know what you know, and you go forward with the plan that you have,” Daroux said.

“We have to be agile and responsive to the changing dynamics within policing and in the environment that we’re policing with, and we need to be constantly evaluating.”

Today, tomorrow

Bronze sculptures of the four RCMP members who were slain on March 5, 2005, at a rural Mayerthorpe farmstead now face the four directions at the Fallen Four Memorial Park in Mayerthorpe — their eyes forever to the horizon.

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Gordon faces west to Whitecourt, the town of his first posting.

Johnston faces north to Lac La Biche, where he was born.

Myrol faces south to his hometown of Red Deer.

Schiemann faces east towards his hometown of Stony Plain.

A plaque unveiled July 4, 2008, by the Mayerthorpe Fallen Four Memorial Society reads, “Honouring ALL peace officers who have died in the line of duty. May their brave spirits soar. We give thanks for them, and all who still protect and serve.”

— with files from Jonny Wakefield 

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