Calgary

Alberta peace officer killed in ambush, documents say

Court documents say that an Alberta man accused of killing a peace officer last year was hiding out in his Quonset for three days because he feared someone was stealing his dogs.

Trevor Kloschinsky accused of killing former Mountie Rod Lazenby

Trevor Kloschinsky was arrested and charged last August in the death of former RCMP officer Rod Lazenby. (Stuart Gradon/Calgary Herald)

Court documents say that an Alberta man accused of killing a peace officer last year was hiding out in his Quonset for three days because he feared someone was stealing his dogs.

Trevor Kloschinsky, 46, is charged with first-degree murder of peace officer Rod Lazenby.

High River peace officer Rod Lazenby was killed while on duty in August 2012. (M.D. of Foothills)

The details from the documents have not been proven in court, but outline what police witnessed during the initial investigation.

RCMP were called to Kloschinsky's rental property, located near the southern Alberta community of Priddis, 13 times before the day when Lazenby was killed.

Documents suggest Kloschinsky was worried about the dozens of dogs he kept on his property.

He owned 34 and kept them inside a Quonset. He believed someone was stealing his dogs after five of the animals were set loose, and he believed Lazenby and the local RCMP were involved.

Kloschinsky told police in an interview after his arrest that he "had to take things into his own hands," according to information submitted to obtain a search warrant.

He said he stole six pairs of handcuffs from an adult-only store and hid for three days hoping to catch the person who he believed was stealing his dogs.

Lazenby went to the property after authorities received an email that one of Kloschinsky's dogs was rabid.

Kloschinsky told police that Lazenby had his hands on one of his dogs, so he handcuffed Lazenby to some chains.

Peace officer handcuffed, taken to Calgary

Later in the day, Kloschinsky drove Lazenby to a police detachment in Calgary.

"I got a guy trying to steal my dogs but I caught him and brought him here," said Kloschinsky, according to the documents.

Police found Lazenby in the back of an SUV with two pairs of handcuffs on him.

He was unresponsive and his shirt was ripped, stretched and dirty, police said at the time.

Officers say there were indications that "a struggle occurred."

His injuries included a bloody nose, cuts to his forehead, scratched knuckles, scraped knees and blood dripping from the back of his head.

He was taken to hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead on arrival.

It is still unclear how Lazenby died, but a doctor said his skull was not fractured.

Court documents also show the owner of the property rented by Kloschinsky called him "kind of a loose cannon." He will be back in court this Friday.