New Brunswick has set dates for the coroner’s inquest into the 2015 death of a man shot outside the Bathurst train station by police acting on an erroneous Crime Stoppers tip.
The inquest into Michel Vienneau‘s death is scheduled to run from April 27 to May 7 and will look to determine the facts surrounding his death.
Vienneau, a 51-year-old businessman, was shot by Bathurst police officers Const. Mathieu Boudreau and Const. Patrick Bulger on Jan 12, 2015.
The two officers were acting on a Crime Stoppers tip that alleged Vienneau and his common-law partner Annick Basque were transporting illegal drugs on a trip from Montreal.
As police confronted the couple, one officer was pinned between the couple’s white 2013 Chevrolet Cruze vehicle and a snowbank.
Vienneau — who wasn’t involved in any criminal activity — was shot in the heart and lungs.
The inquest will be overseen by chief coroner Jérôme Ouellette. He and a jury will hear evidence from witnesses and they will have the opportunity to make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances in the future.
There will be no determination of legal responsibility.
Bulger and Boudreau had been charged with manslaughter in Vienneau’s death but the charges were later dismissed once a provincial court judge ruled after a preliminary hearing that the prosecution had failed to produce enough evidence to warrant a trial.
Although the Public Prosecutions Service appealed, the decision was upheld.
An arbitrator later dismissed a series of allegations of code of conduct breaches against Boudreau and Bulger in 2019.
The alleged breaches included improper use of a firearm, unnecessary use of force, acting in a discreditable manner, neglect of duty and being “abusive or oppressive” to a person while on duty.
Arbitrator Joel Michaud rejected civilian evidence that Vienneau’s car had stopped moving by the time officers shot at it, noting that the witness who said that had poor eyesight.
Michaud noted this was a key point because if the car was still moving towards the pinned officer, it could have been perceived as a lethal threat.
However, the decision also found that Vienneau and Basque sincerely believed they weren’t being confronted by police officers. But the arbitrator also said he didn’t know what was going through Vienneau’s mind.
“Vienneau and Basque were concerned about terrorists during the weekend … and when Boudreau and Bulger blocked their way, that’s what they saw,” he wrote.
“I think Vienneau acted quickly based on what he expected to see and experience, not what was actually taking place.”
The officers, who had been suspended without pay, were re-integrated back into the force after the arbitrator’s decision.
The inquest will be held at Danny’s Events Centre in Beresford, N.B., to ensure compliance with physical distancing requirements due to COVID-19.
—With files from The Canadian Press
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