'We were feeling like the hunted': Wounded Mountie recalls Moncton shootings

A Mountie wounded in Justin Bourque'sdeadly shooting rampage in Moncton, N.B.,on June 4, 2014, testified Monday that police felt like they were being "hunted" that night.

Const. Eric Duboisof the Codiac detachment said he had only his9-mm pistol as he and a colleague crouched behind a shot-up police car, under fire byBourque, who was armed with anM305.308 semi-automatic rifle and aMossberg500 12-gauge shotgun.

"We knew we didn't have the power to respond," Duboistold the trial examining whether the RCMP violated Canada's Labour Codein connection with the shooting deaths of three Moncton Mounties and the wounding of two others.

'If I had a carbine, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind [Bourque] would have gone down.'- Const. Eric Dubois, RCMP

The national police force is charged with violating four provisions of the Labour Codeby allegedly failing to provide members with appropriate use-of-force equipment and training for responding to an active threat or active shooting event, and failing to ensurethe health and safety of every person employed by the force.

"If I had a carbine, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind [Bourque] would have gone down," saidDubois, referring to thehigh-powered,short-barrelledrifle that has a longer and more accurate range than a pistol or shotgun.

In20 minutes, Bourquegunned down five officers, including Dubois, who suffered wounds to his left bicep, the lower part of his left leg and upper part of his right leg that required surgery.

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Dubois, who teared up as he recalled what happened that day,said it all started shortly after he began his shift at 7 p.m. Police responded to reports of amandressed in camouflage walking around with a rifle in a residential area in the city's north end.

At the scene, one of the many citizens out on the streetstold him the manhad two rifles, a bow, a knife and a "focused" set of mind.

"It was weird," said Dubois, who radioed the information to his colleagues and tried to get curious onlookers who were taking videos and approaching police with questions to leave the area.

Police didn't know Bourque's intentions. But once hestarted firing, the threat became real, said Dubois.

"We were feeling like the hunted," he said.

Dubois, who worked in a morgue prior to joining the RCMP,said he saw Const. Fabrice Gevaudanon the ground and knew right away he was dead.

"There was nothing I could do."

A few seconds later, Duboisheard another colleague's desperate pleas over the police radio.

"He's shooting at me, he's shooting at me. Help me, help me," he recalled Const. Martine Benot saying.

"At that point, I didn't think about my security at all," said Dubois,who rushed to assist Benot."I just wanted to get there and do the best I can I'm going to do whatever is needed, even give my life.

"When I decided to join theRCMP, I was not a teenager. I was an adult. I knew the risk and I accepted that risk," he said with a shaky voice.

Earlier in the trial, Benottestifiedaboutresponding to reportsof shots being fired, only to find herself under fire and unable to escape because the engine of her shot-up vehicle "was gone."

"It was a chaos situation," she said.

'It's not a movie, it's reality'

Duboisdrove up beside herdisabled cruiser, pulled her out and dragged her behind his vehicle, where they both took cover. That's when Dubois got shot.

"I could see the hole in my pants and shirt and the blood coming out," he said.

Dubois said he knewBourque'sweapon was a semi-automatic because the shots were coming so fast.

Bourque was in his line of vision for three of four seconds as he crossed the street in front of him, approximately 30 to37 metres away, he said.

• 'Oh God, he's got an automatic'

Duboisthought aboutshooting at him, but didn't. The maximum range of his duty pistol was about 25 metres, and there were houses behindBourque.

"It was more than obvious I was going to miss the target," he said."It's not a movie, it's reality."

Officers are accountable for every bullet they fire, Dubois said, and "when you shoot, you shoot because you're sure."

A shotgun would also have been too dangerous to use because of its unreliable spread pattern and the risk for civilian casualties, he said.

Handgun vs. carbine

Acarbine, however, could have made the difference, he suggested.

"It's night and day compared to the handgun," said Dubois. "It's easy to handle, manipulate. It's really accurate and precise."

"With [a] pistol, I have to always get closer and put myself in jeopardy." Being armed with a carbine would have enabled him to hide from the target and shoot from a safe distance, he said.

No carbines were available to the Codiac detachment on the night of the shootings, the trial has heard.

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During cross-examination by RCMP lawyer Mark Ertel, Dubois said he had asked to "have a better bulletproof vest."

RCMP have Level 2 bulletproof vests, but many police forces have Level 3, he said. Duboissaid he was willing to pay for the better vesthimself, but wantedthe force to approve it so he could wear it legally.

Although there was new hard body armour in the trunk of his car, Duboischose not to put it on. He said the ceramic plates weigh the vests down and might slow him down.

"At that particular moment, I was more confident to go the way I did go," not wearing it, he said.

Off-duty officer offered to help

The court also heard Monday from Const. Simon Grenier, who was off duty on the night of the shootings, but put on his uniform and headed to the office to offer his help after a neighbour told him an officer had been shot.

He said he tried calling the office first, but couldn't get an answer. He called dispatch and "it was just ringing and ringing."

When he finally got through, he asked, "Is it true? Do you need members?" The dispatcher replied, "I don't [expletive] know," and hung up, he said.

Made own decisions

He said he did ask a supervisor for one of the new Colt Canada C8 carbine weapons before heading out, but was told none were available. They were in Oromocto, being used to train officers from another detachment, the trial has heard.

Although Grenierhad not been trained on carbines by the RCMP,he was previously in the militaryand served in Bosnia, where "you basically sleep with it."

He felt carbines were the weapon they needed that night. They're fast because there's no need to reload and accurate, making it easy to hit the target, he said.

Communications sucked that day.- Simon Grenier, RCMP constable

Grenier,who now works onPrime Minister Justin Trudeau's security detail, said he jumped in a vehicle with a colleague anyway and headed to the scene.

Asked by the Crown who made decisions through the night, Grenier said he made his own decisions, echoing the previous testimony of other officers.

"Communications sucked that day," he said.

Justin Bourqueis serving five life sentences with no chance of parole for 75 years after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Two months have been set aside for the Labour Codetrial, which started April 24.

It's scheduled to resume on Tuesday morning with testimony from Sgt. Sam Tease, who worked on the 2015 MacNeilReport, which reviewed the Moncton shootings and made 64 recommendations, including that officers be equipped with carbines.