An RCMP officer recalled feeling blood stream down her body as she fled a gunman who shot her twice and killed three other Mounties during a 2014 shooting spree.
Const. Darlene Goguen, one of two officers wounded in the June 2014 Moncton massacre, said Tuesday she feared that if other officers came to her aid, they would also become targets.
“I thought to myself, ‘I’ve got to drive as far as I can before I can’t drive any further,” Goguen told the RCMP’s Labour Code trial, her voice cracking. “And I have to keep other members from coming in because he’ll kill them.”
Goguen was one of four RCMP officers who responded to the scene in Moncton’s northwest end to testify in Moncton provincial court Tuesday.
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They described a hectic, tragic scene – with one officer locking eyes with Justin Bourque as he aimed a rifle toward him – and a lack of police firepower and training.
The Labour Code charges against the RCMP allege it failed to provide members and supervisors with the appropriate information, instruction and training in an active-shooter event, and didn’t give members the appropriate equipment.
The Labour Code charges against the RCMP allege it failed to provide members and supervisors with the appropriate information, instruction and training in an active-shooter event, and didn’t give members the appropriate equipment.
Johnstone said “something didn’t feel right” as he and Const. Eric Dubois approached woods where a suspicious man with two long rifles and what appeared to be a crossbow had been seen.
Johnstone said he caught a glimpse of the suspect being chased by officers, but soon joined the effort to assist Const. Fabrice Gevaudan, who was dragged into a nearby garage with fatal gunshot wounds.
He told Judge Leslie Jackson he waited for fire crews and paramedics to arrive for what “felt like forever,” but could have been minutes.
Johnstone said he didn’t know where the shooter was or whether he was acting alone. He told court that he lives in the area, so he called his wife to let her know that “at that time, I was safe.”
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As police planned to set up a perimeter, Johnstone said he returned to his patrol car and unwrapped the new hard-body armour in the trunk.
“(I) caught my breath and realized what just happened,” said Johnstone. “That was the first opportunity I had after that to put it on.”
Johnstone said he later learned he had put on the hard-body armour “backwards,” and that prior to the Bourque murders, no practical training about how to use the equipment.
He said he was off work for about two months after the incident. When he returned, Johnstone said he was sent for carbine rifle training, but had to excuse himself because the rapid gunfire was giving him “flashbacks” from that night.
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During cross-examination, defence lawyer Mark Ertel said an email was sent instructing officers to familiarize themselves with the equipment, but Johnstone said he didn’t recall receiving that instruction.
“It’s easy to look back and say, in a perfect scenario, anybody can put on any piece of equipment that they want to,” Johnstone said. “Put somebody under stress that just saw two of their friends get shot and … you don’t remember.”
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Bourque was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 75 years after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
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