Review of Michel Vienneau fatal shooting by Bathurst police complete

Nova Scotia RCMP have concluded their investigation into a fatal Bathurst police shooting last winter, but are not releasing the results yet.

The report has been handed over to New Brunswick public prosecutions services to determine whether any charges are appropriate, Sgt. Alain LeBlanc said in a statement on Thursday.

Michel Vienneau, 51, of Tracadie-Sheila, was shot and killed by Bathurst police outside the Bathurst Via Rail station on Jan. 12, "as part of an ongoing investigaton."

In New Brunswick, police normally only forward a file to public prosecutions if they believe charges are warranted.

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"On completion of the investigation, if the police are satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to lay an information, they will formulate a charge, or charges, based on their assessment of the case and then forward a full report or court brief to the appropriate Crown Prosecutor's office for pre-charge review," the attorney general's policy for public prosecutions states.

But in this case, Nova Scotia RCMP did not make any recommendations as part of their investigation, said LeBlanc.

"The RCMP will not be commenting on the details of the investigation at this time," he said.

Charles LeBlanc, the lawyer representing Vienneau's common law partner, Annick Basque, declined to comment on Thursday, saying he hasn't had an opportunity to review the report yet.

He says he hopes he will be provided with a copy — and he hopes it will be soon.

Parents 'victimized' by waiting

Meanwhile, lawyer Raymond Wade, who is in charge of Vienneau's estate and is in touch with Vienneau's elderly parents, is frustrated.

"Normally, if it would have been an RCMP officer that was killed, we would have known … who the perpetrator was, and where he is and so forth," said Wade.

"We have that kind of frustration with the whole system that we're facing now — especially from the perspective of the parents. They're continually being victimized by the waiting," he said.

As persons living in New Brunswick, and in Canada at large, we are also victims of the fact that there are somewhere facts that indicate a police officer killed a man and we don't know anything about it yet. This is completely abnormal- Raymond Wade, estate lawyer

"And as persons living in New Brunswick, and in Canada at large, we are also victims of the fact that there are somewhere facts that indicate a police officer killed a man and we don't know anything about it yet. This is completely abnormal."

The Bathurst Police Force asked Nova Scotia RCMP to handle the investigation the day after the shooting.

A team of major crime investigators was assigned to the case.

Basque previously told CBC News she and Vienneau had just returned from watching a hockey game in Montreal when they saw people running toward them with guns.

She said the plainclothes officers did not identify themselves. Vienneau tried to drive away and was shot, Basque said.

Vienneau, who owned an electronics store in Tracadie-Sheila, was later pronounced dead at Chaleur Regional Hospital.

Court documents indicate Bathurst police were investigating drug trafficking. An affidavit from Bathurst City Police Chief Eugene Poitras also suggests the possible involvement of organized crime.

In April, Vienneau's widow won the right to learn the names of the officers involved. She had filed a motion with the Court of Queen's Bench so she could pursue legal action against the officers.

Justice Larry Landry decided to release the identities and addresses of the officers to Basque and her lawyer, but ruled the information would not be made public.

Basque's lawyer appealed the decision to keep the officers' names private. The Court of Appeal has not yet reviewed the matter.