Mountie inquiry hears from officer in charge when 4 Alberta officers were killed

STONY PLAIN, Alta. – The officer in charge the day four Alberta Mounties were shot and killed says police knew who they were dealing with in the gunman.

Jim Martin, the corporal responsible for the Mayerthorpe detachment that day, is on the stand at a fatality inquiry into their deaths.

Martin says he knew James Roszko had a violent past – his long criminal history had come up in an application for a search warrant for the property.

That search was why the officers were on the scene in the first place – to help bailiffs repossess a truck.

They found a chop shop and grow operation and ended up staking out the property.

One of the lingering questions about the shooting is whether the officers had enough resources and training to protect themselves from Roszko’s ambush.