Quebec’s 2012 election-night shooting ‘unpredictable,’ police witnesses testify
Global News
Frédéric Desgagnés, a sergeant with the provincial police unit that oversees security of dignitaries, told the court his team did a good job of protecting Marois.
The provincial police officer charged with the personal security of then-premier-designate Pauline Marois during Quebec’s 2012 fatal election shooting testified on Monday that he is satisfied with his team’s work that day.
Frédéric Desgagnés, a sergeant with the provincial police unit that oversees security of dignitaries, told the court his team did a good job of protecting Marois. The unit followed protocol, he said, adding that the threat of the gunman was unforeseeable.
“It had gone undetected; it was an unpredictable and irrational event,” Desgagnés told the court.
Desgagnés testified at the civil trial of four stagehands who were present the night of the shooting and who are suing the City of Montreal and Quebec’s attorney general for a total of more than $600,000.
Richard Henry Bain was convicted in 2016 on one count of second-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder for the shooting and arson outside the Metropolis concert hall as Marois delivered a victory speech inside the downtown Montreal venue.
Lighting technician Denis Blanchette was shot to death in the attack, and a second technician, David Courage, was injured after being struck by the same bullet that killed his colleague. Courage was present at the courthouse Monday in support of his four colleagues.
The plaintiffs allege the police didn’t do enough to evaluate the risks associated with the event and that there were no police stationed outside the back door of the venue or at other key areas. They say they suffered post-traumatic stress and other psychological damage due to the shooting.
Desgagnés testified that he approved the security plan and that he was one of the officers who moved Marois off the stage when he heard an explosion — caused by Bain launching an incendiary device. Desgagnés said he first mistakenly thought the noise came from a confetti cannon.
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