Paul Beauchesne new top Mountie looking to help Codiac heal

The new Superintendent of the Codiac RCMP wants to do everything he can to help officers move forward after the shootings on June 4, including helping officers who are struggling with the emotional aftermath.

Paul Beauchesne is a 24-year veteran of the Mounties who has returned to New Brunswick where he first started his career.

Beauchesne said he remembers where he was when he first heard the news about the Moncton shootings, when gunman Justin Bourque opened fire, killing three police officers and wounding two more.

He was working in Montreal and at the time, Beauchesne said he didn't know it would be his next posting. When the opportunity arose, he applied for the job and said he has no regrets.

Beauchesne said there were some programs in place when he started at the detachment to help police officers still dealing with the aftermath. There are still some officers out on leave.

"I won't get into particular details but think every person deals with tragedy in a different way,” he said. “The people that need the help, they're receiving the help and people are sort of dealing with that in their own way."

Some officers still out on leave

He won’t get into numbers, but Beauchesne said officers are being given the time they need to heal emotionally.

“We had officers from around that came to Codiac to help to replace the ones that were not back at duty,” he said. “As of this week, the last persons that were here in Codiac have now been sent back to their original detachments and that's another good sign that we're on the right road."

Beauschene said he's aware of what happened to Cpl. Ron Francis and the concerns about post traumatic stress disorder. Francis was found dead Monday after a very public struggle with PTSD.

"Because the tragedy has always been so close, I think it's always omnipresent,” Beauchesne said. “And concerning what happened to Ron, absolutely we're all looking at one another and taking care of one another. That peer support again is so ultimately important I think that's probably helped us deal with that for the moment as well."

Beauchesne says he wants to move forward now with policing priorities which include crime reduction, focusing on young people and reducing the number of motor vehicle fatalities.