Alberta farmer to blame in slayings of 4 Mounties: reports

Nearly two years after four Mounties were gunned down in an ambush on a northern Alberta farm, two internal reports leaked to the CBC lay the blame solely on gunman and "career criminal" James Roszko.

The reports — one by the federal Human Resources Department and the other by the RCMP — both say there was no way that the RCMP could have anticipated the slayings of constables Anthony Gordon, Peter Shiemann, Brock Myrol and Leo Johnston near Mayerthorpe on March 3, 2005.

"This was a premeditated act of murder. Roszko's behaviour was unprecedented and unanticipated," says the report from the RCMP's hazardous occurrence investigation.

"There was nothing available to the police at the time which would have suggested that Roszko had intent to plan and execute a deadly assault on officers."

The other report, compiled by a health and safety officer for the federal Human Resources Department, concludes the "immensely tragic event is the direct result of an unprecedented, premeditated act of murder."

The reports also offer detailed timelines of the events that led to the shootings and recommend ways to improve officer safety in the wake of the deaths.

Roszko, who was heavily armed, killed the men as they staked out his farm near the hamlet of Rochfort Bridge during an investigation into stolen property and a small marijuana grow operation.

Roszko, 46, was struck by a police bullet when he opened fire on RCMP officers, but police said he then turned his gun on himself.

He had a lengthy criminal record and his violent tendencies and collection of firearms were well-known to police in the area.

More night-vision gear among recommendations

The report fromHuman Resources made a brief list of recommendations for Alberta's RCMP division:

• Obtain more night-vision equipment soofficers can work safely in low light and dark conditions.
• Start using rifle plates in body armour.
• Conduct a hazard assessment ofthe division'sportable radio system to ensure members can communicate by radio throughout Alberta.

The RCMP report agreed with those suggestions and offered a few more, such as recommending that Mounties get more shooting practice.

The Mounties' report also recommends the RCMP consider developing a national system for keeping track of "chronic, dangerous career criminals" like Roszko.

But the report doesn't suggest that such a system would have made any difference if it had been in place before the 2005 killings.