Man charged with 1st-degree murder in peace officer’s death due in Calgary court

CALGARY – An Alberta man makes his first appearance in court today on a first-degree murder charge in the death of a retired Mountie killed while working as a peace officer in a small community south of Calgary.

Trevor Kloschinsky, 46, was taken into police custody Friday shortly after Rod Lazenby’s death.

He was formally charged a day later and is due in Calgary court this morning. Police say he was known to them but did not have a criminal record.

Lazenby of High River, Alta., died in hospital after he was injured responding to what police describe as a dog-related call at Kloschinsky’s home in Priddis, Alta.

A veteran in law enforcement, he was a Mountie for 35 years before retiring in 2006, and had since started working for the Municipal District of Foothills.

Little is known about what happened Friday but RCMP say no shots were fired. Peace officers with the Foothills district do not carry guns, but are armed with pepper spray and a baton.

An autopsy is planned today to determine what caused Lazenby’s death.

News stories from 2002 said Lazenby was part of an elaborate sting operation in Ottawa where officers posed as Italian mobsters to try and get a suspect to confess to murder.

In news reports covering the trial, Lazenby described in court how he portrayed Rod Calabria, the ruthless head of an organized crime group, by faking an Italian accent and pretending to lead a lavish lifestyle.

The RCMP expressed its condolences to Lazenby’s family this weekend, saying his death would affect law enforcement throughout the province.

Meanwhile, neighbours said the property where Lazenby was dispatched had sparked tensions in the past, noting problems with the dogs had been ongoing for a couple of years.