Police have determined that there was a low level of danger outside Metropolis on election night in 2012 when a gunman shot and killed a lighting technician, according to a retired Surete du Quebec (SQ) lieutenant who helped oversee security.
Daniel Rondeau testified Friday in the civil lawsuit involving four stage technicians who were present the night of the shooting and are suing the City of Montreal and the Quebec attorney general for a total of more than $600,000.
On September 4, 2012, the night of the provincial election, Rondeau was an SQ lieutenant overseeing the security of political leaders and their spouses and coordinating operations from a command centre.
Rondeau testified at trial that there was no credible threat at the site of Premier-elect Pauline Marois' victory rally and therefore no officers were positioned outside the venue. No officers were with Marois' vehicle at the time either, he said.
The assessment of the level of danger was "low", Rondeau testified.
The complainants allege that the police did not do enough to assess the risks associated with the event and that there were no officers positioned at the back door of the Metropolis or in other key areas. They say they suffered post-traumatic stress and other psychological damage as a result of the shooting.
Richard Henry Bain was convicted in 2016 of one count of second-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder for the shooting outside Metropolis while Marois was giving a victory speech inside.
Lighting technician Denis Blanchette was shot and killed in the attack, and a second technician, David Courage, was injured after being hit by the same bullet that killed his colleague. The four stage technicians in the case are colleagues of the two men.
Rondeau said he spoke to Frédéric Desgagnés, a sergeant in charge of Marois' security, and said he was satisfied with the plan he received by phone for the political event. Desgagnés is expected to testify Monday.
He said the number of bodyguards assigned to Marois inside the hall had been doubled to four and that there were officers posted at the front and back doors inside the Metropolis. Security for the event also checked the bags of people entering the hall.
Rondeau said the back door was left unlocked to allow technicians to come and go and some party members to use it as well. He said that if the police had received credible threats or information about a protest, for example, officers could have been moved to stand guard outside. No such problems were identified, he told the court.
The civil trial heard that at least six threats were made against Marois on election day.
Rondeau said he only learned of the threats after the attack. He said they were all investigated, but none were specifically linked to Bain. He shared the information with Marois and her family after the attack.
Rondeau said the Bain attack was "undetectable" and "unpredictable.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 8, 2022.
