Mayerthorpe (film)

Mayerthorpe, also known as Menace or To Serve and Protect: Tragedy at Mayerthorpe, is a Canadian dramatic television film which was directed by Ken Girotti and broadcast by CTV in 2008.^[1] The film is a dramatization of the Mayerthorpe tragedy of 2005, in which four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers were shot and killed while executing a search warrant against an illegal marijuana growing operation on the Mayerthorpe, Alberta, farm of James Roszko.^[2]

The film stars Brian Markinson as Roszko, and Henry Czerny as Cpl. Alex Stanton, a fictional character who was inserted into the story to provide a narrative centre.^[3] Its dramatic focus laid the blame squarely on Canada's justice system for inadequacies in dealing with repeat criminal offenders due to Roszko's prior criminal record.^[4]

The cast also included Ben Cotton, Ty Olsson, Adam MacDonald and Gord Rand as the murdered officers Leo Johnston, Brock Myrol, Peter Schiemann and Anthony Gordon, Diane Ladd as Roszko's mother, and Waneta Storms, Landon Liboiron, Shaun Johnston, Peter MacNeill and Dan Petronijevic in supporting roles.

It was shot in Alberta, in and around the towns of Cochrane and Irricana.^[4] The families of the slain officers were given a private advance screening of the film.^[5]

The film was broadcast by CTV on February 10, 2008.^[2]