Convicted of manslaughter, SQ officer getting a new trial

The Supreme Court of Canada has ordered a new trial for Éric Deslauriers, a Sûreté du Québec officer found guilty of manslaughter.

He was convicted in September 2017 in the death of 17-year-old David Lacour on Jan. 22, 2014 in Ste-adèle, and sentenced to four years. Deslauriers was following Lacour, who was driving a stolen car, into a parking lot and shot him.

On Sept. 22, 2017, Quebec Court Judge Joëlle Roy found Deslauriers guilty of manslaughter by committing a crime — discharging his firearm in a reckless manner. She also placed a stay of proceedings on a second charge, criminal negligence causing death. In reaching that verdict, she rejected Deslauriers's claim that Lacour tried to run him over with a stolen car and that he was therefore acting in self-defence.

As part of his initial appeal, Deslauriers argued Roy's summary of the facts of the case in her decision were “fundamentally erroneous, totally incompatible with the evidence and, in fact, a means for the appeal.”

In March, the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned the verdict and ordered a new trial. Two of the three judges who heard the appeal decided there were at least three legitimate reasons to order a new trial. The dissenting judge, Justice Nicole Duval Hesler, Quebec's chief justice, found no errors in Roy's decision.

When he started his shift on the afternoon in question, Deslauriers was informed a Mazda RX-8 had been stolen and was linked to thefts at three ATMS. He also was informed the car had been spotted earlier in the day at a high school in Ste-adèle.

He headed for the school and drove through its parking lot. As he was about to leave, he spotted the stolen car, with Lacour behind the wheel. Deslauriers called for backup, returned to the parking lot and positioned his cruiser to block the exit. Meanwhile, Lacour dropped off two girls at the school.

Deslauriers approached the Mazda and ordered Lacour to show him his hands. Lacour complied with the order, twice, but also revved the engine. As Deslauriers approached the Mazda, Lacour drove toward the police officer. Deslauriers fired two shots, striking Lacour each time, including a fatal shot to the neck.

Justice Jacques Chamberland, who wrote the court's reasons for ordering the new trial, noted a series of errors made by Roy, including how she denied Deslauriers access to information gathered in three previous investigations, including a homicide, in which Lacour was considered a suspect. Deslauriers wanted access to the information in case it offered evidence that Lacour had a history of violence, which would have supported his claim that Lacour aimed the Mazda at him.

“The error is significant as it risked preventing Deslauriers from having a full and complete defence,” Chamberland wrote.

The Quebec Court of Appeal also found fault with how Roy interpreted eyewitness testimony in her decision to convict Deslauriers.

“In my opinion, and this said with respect for the trial judge, the factual framework she maintained (in her decision) seems to me incompatible with the evidence on certain points that are at the heart of the defence of the accused.” Chamberland wrote, adding the error also justifies a new trial.

Deslauriers was sentenced to a four-year prison term in 2018, but was ordered released while his appeal was pending.

On Wednesday morning, the Supreme Court of Canada heard the appeal by the Crown, which judges ruled against. Deslauriers will therefore face a new trial.