Judge convicts RCMP in N.B. massacre, saying force left officers ‘ill-prepared’

MONCTON, N.B. — RCMP officers were caught outgunned and “ill-prepared” to confront a gunman who targeted them on a warm summer night in 2014, a judge ruled Friday as he convicted the national police force of failing to provide its members with adequate use-of-force equipment and user training.

Judge Leslie Jackson was harshly critical of how long it took the RCMP to equip its officers with carbine rifles ahead of the Moncton attack, which left three Mounties dead and two others injured.

Justin Bourque had targeted police officers in hopes of sparking an anti-government rebellion.

“It is clear to me that the useof-force equipment available to those members on June 4, 2014, left them ill-prepared to engage an assailant armed with an automatic rifle,” the provincial court judge said in his 64-page decision.

Rank and file members told the Labour Code trial they were outgunned by Bourque, who roamed a Moncton neighbourhood and opened fired on officers as people walked dogs and children played in yards nearby.

Constables Fabrice Gevaudan, Dave Ross and Doug Larche were killed, while constables Eric Dubois and Darlene Goguen were injured in the shootings.

The C8 carbine rifle was a central focus of the trial. The highpowered weapons were not available to general duty officers at the time of the Moncton shootings, and numerous witnesses who testified said they could have made a difference.

Carbine rifles were approved for use in 2011, but their rollout was delayed on several occasions.

The judge noted that Alphonse MacNeil, a retired assistant RCMP commissioner who conducted an independent review of the shootings for the force, stated during the trial that at the time of his review, he said the rollout of the patrol carbine program should be expedited.

“I agree with MacNeil’s conclusion. The rollout took too long, even allowing for all the variables and challenges,” said Jackson.

“A real concern for the health and safety of front-line members... would have seen a rollout of the patrol carbine prioritized and not left to the vagrancies of available funding.”

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Friday’s decision “carries important implications” and that the Trudeau government would be studying it carefully.

Jackson found the Crown did not prove its case on two other Labour Code violations, and issued a judicial stay on a fourth charge.