A young police officer took the stand at a coroner's inquest Wednesday to recount the events that led her partner to shoot and kill a teenager in Montreal North.

Stephanie Pilotte told a Montreal courtroom that she and her partner, Jean-Loup Lapointe, were attacked before Lapointe opened fire and killed Fredy Villanueva, 18, in August of last year.

The court also heard a frantic over-the-air radio call for backup. Lapointe and Pilotte were unable to get backup quickly, because other officers initially had trouble locating them.

Pilotte said that on the day in question, she and her partner were trying to ticket Fredy Villanueva's brother, Dany, and other youths for playing dice in a park.

She said they decided to arrest Villanueva after he became agitated and began to resist arrest.

But Pilotte said the young man refused to co-operate and they could not handcuff him.

She says he pushed her against a police cruiser, and pushed Lapointe to the ground as he was trying to put on the cuffs.

Then Pilotte said four other young men ganged up on them and refused to listen to instructions to back off.

That's when Lapointe drew his gun and fired several shots in all directions, hitting Fredy Villanueva and two other youths.

Pilotte said she attempted to perform CPR on Villanueva after he was shot.

When asked if the other men with Villanueva were threatening her or Lapointe, she stunned the court by responding: "I didn't see the action, I didn't see them move."

The statement was a sharp contrast to the description provided by Lapointe, who said he was attacked and felt threatened.

When the coroner asked Pilotte if she felt the need to draw her weapon, she replied: "No, I did not."

Pilotte will be cross-examined for the rest of the week and it's possible that Lapointe won't take the stand until the New Year.

Investigation

There's been criticism about the Surete du Quebec investigation into the shooting. Sgt-Det. Bruno Duchesne testified last month that he did not interview either officer in person, relying instead on written reports.

He also admitted that he did not take any steps to separate Lapointe and Pilotte, which could have prevented them from communicating with each other in the days and weeks following the shooting.