Strathcona AB, RCMP Officer killed

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Family, colleagues grieving
Strathcona officer was on traffic duty

Ian Williams
The Edmonton Journal


Wednesday, June 11, 2003

CREDIT: Jimmy Jeong, The Journal

RCMP officers console one another upon news of their colleague's death.



STRATHCONA COUNTY - A sombre gathering of six police cruisers, lights flashing, marked the spot where an on-duty RCMP highway traffic officer was killed instantly Tuesday in a collision with an empty gravel truck southeast of the city.

Const. J.L.G. (Ghislain) Maurice, 35, of the Strathcona County RCMP detachment, died in the collision at about 8:45 a.m. on Highway 21, about five kilometres south of Highway 14.

The truck driver was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, said RCMP K-Division spokesman Const. Al Fraser.

Traffic collision experts and other investigators spent more than four hours at the accident scene to conduct their investigation.

While they worked, the gravel truck, including a second trailer, blocked both lanes of Highway 21. Maurice's unmarked cruiser, a Chevrolet Caprice, was in the west ditch facing north. The driver's side was crushed in the collision.

The cruiser Maurice was driving was equipped with a speed radar unit.

Maurice, a 14-year veteran of the force, had been with Strathcona County RCMP for the past three years.

"The detachment is grieving," Fraser said. "The organization is grieving. The family is grieving."

Fraser said two chaplains are available for the Strathcona County detachment. The provincial RCMP chaplain was also called in to offer support, and the detachment's victims' service unit was also activated.

"There's quite a support network that comes into play," Fraser said.

Shortly after noon, Strathcona County firefighters used the Jaws of Life to cut off the Caprice's roof to remove Maurice's body.

"Mechanical tests will be done on both vehicles, which is not unusual when we have a fatality involved," said Fraser, who said the investigation is in the early stages.

Flags at RCMP detachments across Alberta were already at half-mast in memory of Staff Sgt. Don Walde, 45, a pilot with K-Division's RCMP air services. Walde died Friday from a blood clot following a foot operation.

iwilliams@thejournal.canwest.com

© Copyright 2003 Edmonton Journal