Police officer speaks out about fatal Bathurst shooting

A former Bathurst Police officer is shedding light on the training that officers involved in Monday's fatal shooting would have had to prepare for a situation like the one they found themselves in that day.

Josh Ouellette is now chief of the neighbouring police department based in Nigadoo. He's urging people to be patient while they wait for Nova Scotia RCMP to complete its investigation into the incident which claimed the life of 51-year-old Michel Vienneau.

The events leading to a police shooting outside Via Rail are unclear. What is known is that on Jan. 12 at about 11:25 a.m., police fatally wounded Vienneau while conducting an investigation.

New video shows Vienneau at the scene, as others onsite tend to his injuries.

“It's not something that I, as a police chief will look [at] and say ‘Oh, that's what happened by looking at that,’” said Ouellette.

With little information being provided by official sources, rumours abound.

Ouellette says police forces are prepared for confrontation. Officers spend one year training at an academy and get continuous training afterwards to cover specific operations and situations. This training includes use of force.

He says the police officer must decide how much use of force is needed.

“Now, he has to answer for it and there's a whole protocol that we follow,” said Ouellette.

Ouellette is careful to say he doesn't know exactly the kind of lethal force used in this situation, or any other details of the incident.

On Monday, Vienneau's partner told reporters the people who surrounded their vehicle weren't in uniform and that she didn't know who they were. City police and RCMP have refused to comment on her version of what happened.

Ouellette urges the public to reserve judgment until the full investigation is carried out.

More than 10 members of the Nova Scotia RCMP are working on the investigation.