Arbitrator Joel Michaud dismissed alleged code of conduct breaches against Constables Mathieu Boudreau and Patrick Bulger stemming from the fatal shooting of Michel Vinneau at the Bathurst train station
Two New Brunswick police officers were cleared of any code of conduct violations in the fatal 2015 shooting of Michel Vinneau at the Bathurst train station, seen here.A New Brunswick arbitrator has dismissed alleged code of conduct breaches by two Bathurst, N.B., police officers who were involved in a fatal shooting almost five years ago.
As police confronted the couple, one officer was pinned between the couple’s white 2013 Chevrolet Cruze vehicle and a snowbank.In a decision released Tuesday, arbitrator Joel Michaud rejected civilian evidence that Vienneau’s car had stopped moving by the time officers shot at it, noting the witness who said that had poor eyesight.
The decision finds Vienneau and Basque sincerely believed they weren’t being confronted by police officers, and the arbitrator also says he doesn’t know what was going through Vienneau’s mind.“Vienneau and Basque were concerned about terrorists during the weekend ... and when Boudreau and Bulger blocked their way, that’s what they saw,” he wrote.
He said he accepted testimony from Boudreau that he fired twice at Vienneau, reassessed and then fired twice more, saying that was proper procedure. Michaud heard from 13 witnesses and received 16 exhibits comprising hundreds of pages during the hearing.