A memorial service was held in Mayerthorpe, Alta., on Monday, 20 years after four RCMP members were killed in the line of duty.
On March 3, 2005, the four Mounties were shot and killed on a rural property just outside of the town.
The property belonged to James Roszko, a notorious criminal in the area. He emerged from a quonset barn and opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle. He then killed himself after trading gunfire with other police officers.
Constables Peter Schiemann, Leo Johnston, Anthony Gordon and Brock Myrol would come to be known as the Fallen Four.
The RCMP say it’s important to honour them every year.
“Those four constables paid a price that none of us were expecting and that is a risk that RCMP and police across Canada are taking every day just trying to protect their communities and help people feel safe,” Const. Julie-Ann Strilaiff said.
Mayerthorpe Mayor Janey Jabush says 20 years has flown by fast, but also “feels like an eternity,” getting emotional during the ceremony.
“This is one of those days that lives in infamy for Alberta, for Mayerthorpe and for the country for that matter,” Jabush told CTV Edmonton.
While she says the town will never forget what happened, Jabush hopes the town can hold a legacy that’s “not associated with a tragedy.”
Honouring their memory
Donald Schimann, father of Cst. Peter Schiemann, says he was surprised to see the amount of people who came to the memorial Monday morning.
“I think it says something that their service and their sacrifice is not forgotten and I think we need to remember that,” Schimann said.
“We owe them an incredible debt of gratitude and I think today, Canada is so divided these days, to see people coming together for something like this, it was wonderful.”
All four mounties were described as being involved in their communities, which is why they responded with a memorial park, he added.
Four life-sized bronze statues stand in a circle in positions of readiness, back-to-back at 4602 52 St. in the town. It was unveiled in June 2008.
Kim Allan McKee was stationed at the Mayerthorpe detachment between 1983 to 1996 and says he dealt with Roszko. He was in shock when he learned about the tragedy.
“You always go back to when you were stationed here and I went ‘Jeez I’ve dealt with him before, that could have been me at the time,’” he told CTV News Edmonton at the memorial.
Allan McKee describes Mayerthorpe as a great community and is flooded with memories when he returns to the town.
“It’s a tragedy that will always be in our minds,” he said.
With files from CTV Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson
