Arbitration hearing for 2 Bathurst officers involved in fatal 2015 shooting to proceed

A request by two Bathurst police officers to delay their arbitration hearing in the shooting death of Michel Vienneau four years ago has been denied.

The hearing for Bathurst Police Force constables Patrick Bulger and Mathieu Boudreau is expected to proceed Thursday with testimony from the first witness — Vienneau's common-law partner, Annick Basque, who was with him when he was shot.

The hearing began Wednesday morning with news that the two officers had each fired their lawyer. Bulger and Boudreau both testified they were seeking an adjournment until they could obtain new legal representation.

But the police force sought to push ahead with the hearing and the appointed arbitrator, lawyer Joël Michaud, agreed.

The hearing is being held to deal with recommendations to dismiss Bulger and Boudreau over their actions related to the shooting.

Vienneau, a 51-year-old Tracadie businessman, was killed Jan. 12, 2015, when the officers tried to arrest him at the Via Rail parking lot in Bathurst.

The officers were responding to what turned out to be a false tip that Vienneau was carrying "a load of drugs."

The city has previously described what happened as "so fundamentally troubling that the public trust and the community's interests deserve no less than the matter being fully aired in a public forum in front of an arbitrator."

The hearing arose after a New Brunswick Police Act investigation and the sides could not agree on discipline and corrective steps.

Each officer was found to have breached five counts of the New Brunswick Police Act: they didn't properly use and carry a firearm, they abused authority, neglected their duty and acted in a discreditable manner.

The arbitrator's decision will be binding, unless overturned by a judicial review.

Lawyers cost too much

Bulger took the stand Wednesday to outline what he knows about the dismissal of lawyers T.J. Burke and Brian Munro.

Boudreau testified the cost of the two lawyers over the years-long process had become too much. 

Bulger said there was a meeting last week with his union. He testified he was told to either go with a New Brunswick Police Association lawyer, or they wouldn't pay for a lawyer. 

The association is an advocacy and lobbying organization that represents municipal police officers across the province.

He said he faced the choice of getting the new lawyer provided by the association, or none at all. 

"It was either you choose our lawyer, or you've got nothing," Bulger said.

Basile Chiasson, the lawyer representing Bathurst police Chief Ernie Boudreau, said under the Police Act there's no guarantee a respondent should have a lawyer. 

He argued against the officers' request for an adjournment, saying there is a public interest in the hearing taking place.

'Public deserves answers'

"The public deserves answers," he told reporters. "There is this — how can I put it — public trust deficit now with the public and the police force here in Bathurst that needs to be cured, that needs to be addressed."

Mathieu Boudreau had said the officers would suffer the most if the matter went ahead without having legal representation. 

"I'm 30 years old and I believe I did my job and I deserve a fair chance," Boudreau said in a brief reply.

The arbitrator ruled the officers' argument for an adjournment was essentially the same as their request for an adjournment in March, which he had granted. They have had six months to deal with issues, said Michaud.

The officers wouldn't comment following the decision.

The hearing at the Best Western hotel in Bathurst is scheduled to run Oct. 16-18 and Oct. 21-25.

Michaud noted the hearing lost a day of evidence Wednesday, but said he hoped it could be completed within the scheduled timeframe.

He began the hearing by reading the five counts against the officers, asking each whether they admit or deny the counts. 

"Deny," both officers said after each count was read. 

Boudreau was a rookie constable working with a specialized joint-forces intelligence unit for six months when it received an anonymous tip about Vienneau. Boudreau and Bulger were instructed by a superior officer to investigate the tip, Burke told CBC News in 2017. 

They parked in an unmarked police vehicle next to a car they identified as Vienneau's and waited for him to arrive on the train from Montreal. 

Vienneau stepped off the train that day more than four years ago with his common-law partner.

Boudreau and Bulger activated their emergency lights and tried to block Vienneau from leaving when Vienneau started the engine of his car. Bulger left the vehicle and yelled, "Police, stop."

Burke told CBC that Vienneau hit the gas and smashed into the police vehicle and hit Bulger. Burke said Bulger appeared to slide underneath Vienneau's car. 

Boudreau fired his pistol four times, fatally striking Vienneau. 

The two officers were charged with manslaughter, however a judge determined after a preliminary inquiry that there wasn't enough evidence of criminal intent to proceed to trial.

Both Bulger and Boudreau were suspended with pay from the police force after the charges were laid. They returned to work in February 2018 but were suspended again with pay in June 2018 after a settlement conference.