BATHURST, N.B. — The case of two New Brunswick police officers charged in the shooting death of a 51-year-old man is in court today.
Michel Vienneau of Tracadie-Sheila was shot in his vehicle near the Bathurst train station last January.
The RCMP say Patrick Bulger, 38, and Mathieu Boudreau, 26, of the Bathurst City Police force were both charged in November with manslaughter, assault with a weapon and unlawfully pointing a firearm.
Vienneau's common-law partner was with him in the vehicle at the time of the shooting and alleges in a statement of claim that his death was caused by police negligence.
In a statement of defence, the City of Bathurst says officers were investigating whether the couple had illegal drugs after returning from a trip to Quebec.
The statement also says the officers clearly identified themselves to Vienneau and had tried to stop his vehicle before it accelerated.
None of the lawsuit's allegations or statements of defence has been proven in court.
