Pleas adjourned for 2 Bathurst police accused in Michel Vienneau death

Two members of the Bathurst Police Force made a briefappearance in provincial court Monday on manslaughter and weapons charges laid in connection with the shooting death of a Tracadie man in Bathurst last January.

Const. Patrick Bulger, 38, of Beresford and Const. Mathieu Boudreau 26, of Dunlop had their cases adjourned until Feb. 3, at which time they are scheduled to enter pleas to the charges.

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Each of the officers iseach charged with:

• Manslaughter with a weapon.
• Two counts of assault with a weapon.
• Two counts of unlawfully pointing a firearm.

Boudreau was represented by lawyer T.J. Burke, who requested an adjournment of three or four weeks.

Bulgerdoes not yet have a lawyer.

The police officers have been suspended with pay from the force. They have yet to enter pleas.

The charges were laid in November following an investigation by the Nova Scotia RCMP into the shooting death of Michel Vienneau, 51,of Tracadie in the parking lot of the Via Rail station in Bathurst.

Court documents filed in connection with a civil lawsuit against the City of Bathurst by Vienneau'scommon-law wife, Annick Basque, state police were acting on a Crime Stoppers tip that Vienneau was returning from Montreal with drugs when police attempted to arrest him on Jan. 12, 2015.

In its statement of defence, the City of Bathurstsaid the police officers fired in self-defence after Vienneau's car accelerated without warning and pinned one of the officers against a snowbank.

Nova Scotia RCMPsaid they found no evidence in their investigation that Vienneau was involved in illegal activity.