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N.B. prosecutors seeking to revive case against officers in businessman’s death

FREDERICTON — Crown lawyers in New Brunswick are seeking a judicial review of a judge's decision to throw out manslaughter charges against two police officers in the shooting death of a Tracadie businessman, alleging the judge made a jurisdictional error.

April 11, 2017  By The Canadian Press


The province’s Public Prosecutions Services issued a brief statement Tuesday saying it was the Crown’s opinion the judge failed to consider all of the relevant evidence at the conclusion of the officers’ preliminary hearing in February.

Const. Patrick Bulger and Const. Mathieu Boudreau were charged in the death of 51-year-old Michel Vienneau, who was shot in his vehicle outside the Bathurst train station on Jan. 12, 2015.

The officers were investigating whether Vienneau and his common-law partner were in possession of illegal drugs after returning from a trip to Montreal.

On Feb. 24, Judge Anne Dugas-Horsman ruled in Bathurst provincial court that the prosecution failed to make their case, and she dropped the charges against the officers. At the time, there was applause in the packed courtroom and both police officers wept. Neither spoke as they left the courtroom.

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The statement from the prosecution service says Crown lawyers will not comment further as the matter is before the courts.

In a separate civil lawsuit, Vienneau’s partner alleges that his death was caused by police negligence.

In a statement of defence, the City of Bathurst said the officers clearly identified themselves to Vienneau while he and his partner were in their car.  However, the lawsuit alleged that Vienneau’s vehicle accelerated, pinning one officer against a snowbank. It says another officer fired at the car as it moved toward his colleague.

An RCMP investigation later found that Vienneau, who owned an electronics store, was not involved in criminal activity.

Bulger, 38, and Boudreau, 26, had each faced charges of manslaughter with a weapon, assault with a weapon and unlawfully pointing a firearm.

Bathurst City Police Chief Eugene Poitras said previously the two officers had been suspended with pay until the court process was concluded.

The New Brunswick Police Commission, which investigates complaints related to police conduct, suspended its own investigation, saying their work wouldn’t proceed until the criminal process had concluded.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. 2017


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