A Superior Court judge says police security planning for Quebec’s 2012 election night had a “major flaw” that allowed a gunman to carry out the fatal attack.
Justice Philippe Belanger awarded damages totaling nearly $292,000 to four stagehands who were working at the downtown Montreal venue where the then-premier-elect was held. Pauline Marois Giving a Parti Québécois victory speech on September 4, 2012.
A lone gunman shot and killed a colleague in the back of the venue and seriously wounded another technician with the same bullet.
Four of the plaintiffs testified that they had suffered post-traumatic stress and other psychological damage as a result of the shooting.
He accused the Montreal Police and the Quebec Provincial Police of failing to properly assess the risks associated with the event and not deploying officers to guard the rear of the venue.
Belanger ruled that the police security plan had a “major flaw” because it did not include a security perimeter behind Metropolis—the location that has since been renamed MTELUS.