‘You are not a leader’

RCMP corporal denounces Paulson’s Moncton testimony

An RCMP corporal who was a friend of three murdered Mounties is publicly condemning the commissioner’s testimony last week on the killings as a clear failure of leadership.

“I hold you personally responsible for the deaths of my friends,” Cpl. Patrick Bouchard, who worked alongside the Mounties who died during a 2014 shooting rampage in Moncton, N.B., wrote in an open letter on Facebook.

“I hold you responsible because you as a manager (you are not a leader) have placed money and image ahead of the safety of the members you are sworn to protect. You sir have failed us.”

Commissioner Bob Paulson testified last Thursday at the RCMP’s trial on Labour Code charges in the shootings that management had concerns over the possible militarization of the force as it prepared to arm officers with highpowered carbine rifles.

Carbine rifles were not available to general duty officers during Justin Bourque’s shooting spree on June 4, 2014, and numerous witnesses have testified they could have made a difference as Mounties tried to take on Bourque’s high-powered long guns with their service pistols. However, Paulson told the court that he worried that the carbines could “distance the public from the police.”

The guns were approved in 2011, but their rollout was delayed on several occasions. Paulson also said under oath that the RCMP needs to demonstrate the ability to use force, but it is not central to its presence.

“We have tanks, drones and machine guns, but are we going to a shoplifter with a carbine?” he testified.

Constables Fabrice Gevaudan, Dave Ross and Doug Larche were killed, while constables Eric Dubois and Darlene Goguen were wounded when Bourque targeted police officers in hopes of sparking an anti-government rebellion.

Bouchard, who is a 15-year-veteran of the force and is now posted in the Miramichi area, said he worked alongside the officers and was deeply saddened and angered by their loss.

He said Paulson’s testimony hit him “like I had been punched in the gut.”

He said in an interview that he doesn’t accept the logic of Paulson’s arguments.