MONCTON – A judge has ruled the partner of a man shot to death by police in Bathurst has the right to know the names and addresses of the officers involved.
Michel Vienneau, who was from Tracadie-Sheila, N.B., was killed in the parking lot of the Bathurst VIA rail station on Jan. 12 during a police investigation.
The Nova Scotia RCMP are still investigating the shooting.
Vienneau’s girlfriend, Annick Basque, who had been sitting in a car with him right before he was shot, was placed under arrest.
She intends to file a civil case against police for malicious arrest and unlawful detention.
She filed a motion with the Court of Queen’s Bench to get the names of the officers she intends to sue.
In a ruling issued April 8, Judge Larry Landry ordered Chief Eugene Poitras of the Bathurst police, to release the names and address of the two officers to Basque within 60 days.
He said that Basque and her lawyer Charles R. LeBlanc could not release the names of the two officers or any information that would identify them.
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Their names and addresses also cannot be mentioned in Basque’s eventual court filing. Instead, they will known by the pseudonyms Jean Policier and Joseph LeFlic.
According to an affidavit filed by Basque, she and Vienneau were returning from a trip to Montreal. She noticed two men in a car parked near Vienneau’s car as she got off the train. She said that the events happened quickly, but the two men exited their car and there was a gun shot. Vienneau was hit and Basque was put under arrest.
Basque said that it wasn’t until later in the day the police told her Vienneau was dead. Basque said her lawyer attempted to get the identities of the two men from Bathurst Police Chief, but never received an answer.
In an affidavit filed by Chief Poitras, he said that since the shooting occurred, they have received information that two individuals from Montreal were in the Bathurst region and were looking for one of the police officers involved in the shooting.
He said that this information was never confirmed, but still felt the security of his officer was at risk.
His affidavit also confirmed that the officers were conducting an investigation into drug trafficking and organized crime at the time of the shooting.
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