Villanueva inquiry hears panicked call

The police radio exchange between the two Montreal officers involved in the shooting of Fredy Villanueva and a dispatcher shows the officers were in a state of panic.

The recording was played in court Wednesday as one of the officers, Const. Stéphanie Pilotte, continued her testimony at the coroner’s inquest into the incident.

Quebec Court Judge André Perrault is heading the inquiry into the shooting of the 18-year old Villanueva in a Montreal North park on Aug. 9, 2008.

In the exchange, both Pilotte and her partner, Const. Jean-Loup Lapointe, can be heard calling for backup. The dispatcher pleads with the officers, asking them at least seven times to provide their location.

Finally, Pilotte responds, saying they are behind the arena in Henri-Bourassa Park. Her voice is high and panicked, and shouting can be heard in the background.

In a statement to investigators, released to the news media Wednesday, Pilotte’s supervisor, Sgt. René Bellemare, describes her as "panicked and screaming."

Bellemare said that once he arrived on the scene, Pilotte was "in tears and in shock."

Pilotte tried to control brother

In her testimony, Pilotte described how she and Lapointe were trying to take Villanueva’s older brother Danny into custody.

The officers had stopped after noticing a group of men, including a known street-gang member, playing dice, contrary to a municipal bylaw.

Danny Villanueva resisted when Lapointe tried to take him into custody, forcing both officers to bring him to the ground, Pilotte said.

She said she got on her knees to try to control his kicking legs, unaware of what was happening around her until she heard the first shot.

In all, Lapointe fired four times —– killing Fredy Villanueva and injuring two other men, Jeffrey Sagor Météllus and Denis Meas.

Witness statements released

Statements taken by investigators from the two injured men and other witnesses were also released Wednesday, along with 911 calls from the scene. The statements tell similar stories.

In his statement, Méas described how he started to back away when the police officers arrived.

"I was scared," Méas said. "I didn’t want to be mixed up in that story. I don’t have a [criminal] record." He described how Danny Villanueva tried to resist arrest.

Méas said Fredy Villanueva approached the police, "telling them to stop hitting [his brother]."

Méas said the officers ordered the men to back up, and he complied.

Sagor Météllus described how Lapointe "was holding Danny by the neck." Fredy "took his brother and Officer Lapointe by the collar … to separate them," Sagor Météllus said.

Another witness, Jonathan Senatus, commented that Lapointe "was shooting blindly" and could have injured an innocent bystander.

In his statement, Danny Villanueva said he "tried to defend himself" against Lapointe, saying he had done nothing wrong. He described how at one point, Lapointe put his hands around his neck.

Asked whether he had hurt any of the officers during the incident, Villanueva replied, "not that I can remember."

On Tuesday, the judge released the reports prepared by the two officers for their superiors after the shooting.

In his report, Lapointe said Danny Villanueva was resisting violently, kicking his partner. He said Villanueva even managed to punch him in the face.

Lapointe said he fired his gun several times when Fredy Villanueva and the others approached him. Lapointe said he felt his life and that of his partner was "in imminent danger."

Photographs of Lapointe and Pilotte’s injuries taken by a crime scene technician and released Tuesday showed minor bruises.

The shooting sparked violent riots in the multi-ethnic working-class community of Montreal North. Quebec's Liberal government ordered a coroner's inquest amid pressure from the Villanuevas' family, friends and community.

The inquest started last spring but was derailed when key witnesses refused to take part because their legal fees weren't covered by the province.