2 Bathurst, N.B. officers charged with manslaughter back in court

Two members of the Bathurst Police Force will have separate preliminary inquiries later this year on manslaughter charges in connection with the shooting death of Michel Vienneau in the northern city in January 2015.

Const. Patrick Bulger, 38, of Beresford and Const. Mathieu Boudreau 26, of Dunlop, did not attend Bathurst provincial court on Tuesday, but had a lawyer there to speak on their behalf.

The officers are each charged with:

• Manslaughter with a weapon.
• Two counts of assault with a weapon.
• Two counts of unlawfully pointing a firearm.

No pleas have been entered, and the pair had previously elected to be tried by judge and jury

The preliminary inquiries will determine if there's enough evidence to proceed to trial.

Blocks of time set aside for the inquiries include: Aug. 23-26, Sept. 6-9 and Oct. 4-7. It's unclear whose hearing will be held first, CBC's Bridget Yard tweeted from the courtroom.

It appears one judge will hear both cases, said Yard.

Brian Munro, a Saint John lawyer who is representing Bulger, suggested that could pose a problem.

If the Crown calls one of the officers to testify against the other, there could be a conflict, said Munro, who was also speaking on behalf of Boudreau's lawyer, T.J. Burke, of Fredericton.

But the Crown said they didn't have any concerns and the case will proceed will the assumption one judge will proceed over both hearings.

Bulger and Boudreau remain suspended from the force, with pay, pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.

Although some of their colleagues attended their previous court appearance to show support, none attended on Tuesday.

Some of the victim's relatives, including his brother, were present, along with a few interested citizens.

Bulger and Boudreau were charged on Nov. 19 following an investigation by the Nova Scotia RCMP into the shooting death of Vienneau, 51, of Tracadie, in the parking lot of the Via Rail station in Bathurst.

Court documents filed by Vienneau's common-law wife, Annick Basque, in connection with a civil lawsuit against the City of Bathurst state police were acting on a Crime Stoppers tip that Vienneau was returning from Montreal with drugs when police attempted to arrest him on Jan. 12, 2015.

In its statement of defence, the City of Bathurst said the police officers fired in self-defence after Vienneau's car accelerated without warning and pinned one of the officers against a snowbank.

Nova Scotia RCMP said they found no evidence in their investigation that Vienneau was involved in illegal activity.

Basque is suing the City of Bathurst, which is responsible for the police force, for damages and loss of income resulting from Vienneau's death, which she alleges is a direct result of police negligence.

In a second lawsuit, she alleges she was arrested using excessive force and without cause during the incident and is seeking financial compensation for damages.