Maximum fine against RCMP urged in Moncton gunman case
Officers were outgunned in shooting spree
• The wife of the last Mountie killed during a 2014 shooting rampage in Moncton, N. B., sent a message to the judge sentencing the RCMP on Labour Code violations Thursday: Her husband would still be alive if the force had better equipped its officers.
In a victim impact statement, Nadine Larche said the tragic outcome of the events of June 4, 2014, could have been dramatically different.
“I firmly believe that my husband, and the father of our three children, would still be alive today had he and his colleagues had the proper ’ tools’ to fight back better that fateful day,” she wrote.
Crown prosecutor Paul Adams asked the judge for the maximum penalty of $ 1 million. He said such a penalty would amount to “a clear declaration of disapproval” of RCMP conduct that left its officers outgunned.
Constables Doug Larche, Fabrice Gevaudan and Dave Ross were killed, while constables Eric Dubois and Darlene Goguen were injured when gunman Justin Bourque went hunting police officers in a Moncton neighbourhood.
Bourque had targeted police officers in the hopes of sparking an antigovernment rebellion.
In September, Judge Leslie Jackson said RCMP officers were “ill- prepared” to confront the gunman, as he convicted the national police force of failing to provide its members with adequate useof-force equipment and user training.
The C8 carbine rifle was a central focus of the trial. The high- powered weapons were not available to general duty officers at the time of the Moncton shootings, and numerous witnesses said they could have made a difference.
Carbine rifles were approved for use in 2011, but their rollout was delayed on several occasions.
An audio recording was played of a victim impact statement from Angela Gevaudan, whose husband Fabrice was killed.
She said that as a dispatcher with the Moncton- area Codiac detachment, she was aware of safety concerns for officers prior to the shooting.
She said that knowing there were safety concerns and not being able to have them addressed only i ncreased her mental suffering and she now suffers from PTSD.
None of the family members were in court Thursday. Goguen — one of the constables wounded by Bourque — sat in the front row of the courtroom but left without speaking.
Adams a s ked t hat a $ 1- million penalty include a $ 100,000 fine to the court, $ 500,000 to the Université de Moncton for memorial scholarships, $ 150,000 to educational trust funds for the children of the deceased officers, as well as other donations.
And he asked that the RCMP be ordered to make a public statement on what measures have been taken since the Moncton tragedy.
Defence lawyer Mark Ertel suggested a penalty of $ 500,000, much of it as donations to groups suggested by the Crown.
Jackson will deliver his sentence on Jan. 26, 2018.