Bathurst officers involved in Michel Vienneau's death can keep jobs, arbitrator rules

An arbitrator has ruled two Bathurst police officers will keep their jobs after a hearing over their roles in the shooting death of Michel Vienneau almost five years ago.

Constables Mathieu Boudreau and Patrick Bulger each faced five counts of code of conduct violations under the Police Act. Arbitrator Joël Michaud's 58-page written decision issued Tuesday says he did not find the officers violated the code of conduct.

He found the officers properly identified themselves, Vienneau's car was still in motion when Boudreau fired at Vienneau, Bulger acted "with restraint and good judgment" when he fired at Vienneau's rear tire to try to stop the car, and Boudreau did not act out of panic and fear. 

As a result, he found the officers not guilty of the alleged breaches of the code of conduct and dismissed the matter. 

The two officers were suspended from the Bathurst Police Force with pay pending the outcome of the hearing. 

T.J. Burke, a lawyer representing Boudreau, said no one was celebrating the decision. 

"It is a timely gift for the officers because they have been found without any wrongdoing both criminally, and now, civilly under the Police Act," Burke said in an interview. 

"But at the end of the day, the officers were just doing their job. They want to put this behind them and they want to move forward with their careers now."

The decision followed testimony from 13 witnesses during the hearing that began in mid-October and lasted 11 days. Closing arguments were offered Dec. 9 after which Michaud had 15 days to issue a decision. The decision is binding, though it can be subject to judicial review within 90 days. 

Vienneau, a 51-year-old Tracadie businessman, was killed Jan. 12, 2015, at the Bathurst train station. 

Bulger and Boudreau were among six undercover officers who rushed to the station based on anonymous Crime Stoppers tips that Vienneau was trafficking drugs on the train. The tips turned out to be false. 

When Vienneau began to drive away from the station, Boudreau and Bulger moved to stop him. They exited an unmarked police car in plainclothes and drew their pistols.

Michaud heard that Vienneau drove his Chevrolet Cruze into the police car and kept driving toward Bulger. Bulger testified he was hit by Vienneau's car and pinned against a snowbank. 

Boudreau, who testified he feared for his partner's life, then fired four times at Vienneau. 

Vienneau died of a gunshot wound to his left chest. 

Michaud's job was to determine, based on sometimes conflicting testimony, what happened that day. Among his key findings were:

• Basque and Vienneau "sincerely believed" they were not facing police officers.

• Vienneau didn't try to avoid Bulger and did purposely drive his car to hit him.

• Police lights on the unmarked cars were activated.

• Clothing and equipment used by officers were what was provided to them by the police force, so it would be "inappropriate" to hold that against them.

• There was cause for "grave concerns" about the reliability of Basque's testimony.

• Vienneau's car was still moving when Boudreau fired his gun.

Criminal charges against the officers were dropped after a preliminary inquiry. 

A separate investigation under the New Brunswick Police Act alleged the officers: didn't properly use and carry a firearm, abused their authority by using unnecessary force, failed to follow police policies and procedures and acted in a discreditable manner.

Basile Chiasson, a lawyer for the police chief, argued the officers had "tunnel vision" after hearing about the Crime Stoppers tips from a supervisor and rushed to the train station hoping to make an arrest and "show their mettle."

Bathurst train station shooting re-enactment

5 years ago

Duration 0:30

A rough recreation of what may have taken place at the train station on Jan. 12, 2015, based on testimony from witnesses at a police discipline hearing.

Chiasson declined to comment on the decision. A statement issued Tuesday by the City of Bathurst said the municipality will "take the necessary time to carefully analyze the decision."

Lawyers for the two officers said they were blamed for an operation that went according to plan until Vienneau hit Bulger.

It's unclear if Vienneau knew Bulger and Boudreau were officers. Vienneau's fiancée, Annick Basque, who was with him that day, testified she didn't know they were police officers when she saw Bulger with a gun in his hand. She thought they were being attacked by "druggies" or terrorists. 

"I think Vienneau acted quickly based on what he expected to see and experience, not what was actually taking place," Michaud wrote of the fear of terrorists. 

Michaud said he had "grave concerns" about the reliability of Basque's testimony because of inconsistencies with her own evidence and that of others, including misidentifying whether it was Boudreau or Bulger who was driving the unmarked car and shot Vienneau.

Boudreau has been a police officer since 2009 and Bulger since 2007. Both officers were described at the hearing by a former supervisor as promising with no previous use-of-force issues.

Michaud did offer some criticism of Bulger's testimony regarding a policy relating to how to conduct a traffic stop. 

"I was unimpressed with the evidence of Bulger, to the effect that he would have been a sitting duck had he remained in the car with only the lower part of his body protected by the engine block," Michaud wrote. "To be blunt, it didn't make sense. I find that Bulger's 'interest in the outcome' and 'motive to deceive' affected his testimony on this point."

While the discipline hearing is over, there are still other proceedings related to the shooting underway. A civil case filed by Vienneau's family against the city and the officers is continuing through court. 

Two years ago, the province ordered a coroner's inquest into Vienneau's death.

Inquest planned

The province has said the inquest will take place following the conclusion of the discipline hearing, though dates have not been set.

Coreen Enos, a spokesperson with the Department of Public Safety, told CBC News the inquest would only be held once "all legal proceedings" related to the hearing, such as any judicial review, are exhausted.

An inquest is a formal court proceeding that allows for public presentation of evidence relating to a death to help clarify the facts and circumstances. 

The coroner does not assign responsibility or blame, but there may be recommendations on how to prevent similar deaths in the future.