Top court appeal denied in Mayerthorpe RCMP killings

Two men who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting deaths of four RCMP officers on a farm near Mayerthorpe, Alta., in 2005, will not have their case heard at the Supreme Court of Canada.

The top court rejectedapplications brought by Dennis Cheeseman and Shawn Hennesseyfor leave to appealtheir sentences. As is its practice, the three-judge panel did not give any reasons for its decision on Thursday.

"It's a shock that they won't listen to the case. They won't listen to the sentences. It's a shock to the whole family," said Hennessey's father, Barry.

Colleen Myrol, the mother of slain Const. Brock Myrol, hoped that the issue is settled, now that the pair's legal options are exhausted.

"I'm just really hoping now that it's done," she said.

Hennesseyand Cheeseman weren't on the farm when James Roszko shot the four Mounties and then himself on March 3, 2005, but theywere charged as parties to the killings.

Cheesemanpleaded guilty in 2009 and was sentenced to nine years in prison, less 22 months credit for time already served.

Hennesseypleaded guiltythe samedayand was sentenced to12 years in prison, less 20 months credit for time already served.

Both argued their sentences were vengeful and too severe and they should be reduced since the men acted out of fear of Roszko. The Alberta Court of Appealruled against themlast September.

The four RCMP officers constablesMyrol, Peter Schiemann, Anthony Gordon and Leo Johnston were on Roszko's property to investigate a marijuana grow-op and auto "chop shop" in a Quonset hut.

Inthe agreed statement of facts accompanying their guilty pleas, Cheeseman and Hennessey admitted to driving Roszko to his farm. Hennessey also gave Roszko his grandfather's rifle, although that gun was not the one used to kill the officers.

Questions about RCMP's response

The Mayerthorpe shootings raised questions about how theMounties handle potentially dangerous situations in rural areas across the country. A CBC investigation in 2008 raised the possibility that the charges against Cheeseman and Hennessey helped shield the force from concerns about its commanding officers' decisions and about the training and preparation of its members.

The RCMP went to extraordinary lengths to pursue the pair,stagingan elaborate, 16-month undercover stingthatused nearly 50 undercover officers, including a female who flirted with Cheeseman. The RCMP evenput ona fake Christmas party that ended with Cheeseman going to a strip club with two of the male officers, who slipped the doorman $100 andpaidfor private lap dances.

Butafatality inquiry held in January concluded that the killings were a "uniquely tragic event which could not reasonably have been foreseen or prevented."

"With the benefit of hindsight, many may claim to see how matters might have been handled differently," provincial court Judge Daniel Pahl wrote in his report. "The imposition of hindsight analysis is however, unreasonable.

"I am satisfied that the RCMP acted appropriately in all circumstances as they then knew them."