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Bathurst City Police officers have first court appearance in manslaughter case

Michel Vienneau was shot to death near the Bathurst VIA Rail station in January. File/ Global News

BATHURST, N.B. – Two New Brunswick police officers are due in court today to face charges in the shooting death of a 51-year-old man.

Michel Vienneau of Tracadie-Sheila was shot in his vehicle near the Bathurst train station last January.

READ MORE: Manslaughter charges laid against two Bathurst police officers in Michel Vienneau shooting

The RCMP say 38-year-old Patrick Bulger and 26-year-old Mathieu Boudreau of the Bathurst City Police force are both charged with manslaughter, assault with a weapon and unlawfully pointing a firearm.

Vienneau’s common-law partner was with him in the vehicle at the time of the shooting and alleges in a statement of claim that his death was caused by police negligence.

In a statement of defence, the City of Bathurst says officers were investigating whether the couple had illegal drugs after returning from a trip to Quebec.

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The statement also says the officers clearly identified themselves to Vienneau and had tried to stop his vehicle before it accelerated.

None of the lawsuit’s allegations or statements of defence has been proven in court.

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