TRACADIE-SHEILA, N.B. – More than 100 people marched through the small town of Tracadie-Sheila, N.B., today to pay tribute to a local businessman shot dead a year ago during a police drug investigation that went awry.
In November, RCMP charged two Bathurst City Police officers in the death of 51-year-old Michel Vienneau, who was shot in his vehicle near the Bathurst train station on Jan. 12, 2014.
A lawsuit filed by Vienneau’s common-law partner, Annick Basque, alleges that his death was caused by police negligence.
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The RCMP have said their investigation revealed that Vienneau, who owned an electronics store, was not involved in criminal activity.
Camille McLaughlin, a friend of Vienneau’s for more than 20 years, says the march was organized as a memorial for a good neighbour and as a protest against the way local police have acted.
In response to Basque’s lawsuit, the City of Bathurst filed a statement of defence saying the officers were investigating whether the couple were in possession of illegal drugs after returning from a trip to Montreal.
The statement also says the officers clearly identified themselves to Vienneau and had tried to stop his vehicle before it accelerated, pinning an officer against a snowbank.
It says one officer fired at the car as it moved toward his colleague.
None of the lawsuit’s allegations or statement of defence have been proven in court.
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