Survivors claim police didn't take security seriously night of Metropolis shooting in Montreal

Closing arguments began Thursday in a civil lawsuit launched against police from four survivors who claim there wasn't enough security the night of the election-night shooting at Montreal's Metropolis nightclub in 2012.

Richard Henry Bain is serving a life sentence after he tried to shoot Pauline Marois during her victory speech. He was arrested shortly after shooting innocent bystander Denis Blanchette during his attempt to enter Metropolis and shoot Marois, who escaped unarmed.  

Among the survivors were several stagehands whose lives forever changed that night. They filed a $600,000 lawsuit alleging the Montreal police (SPVM) and the Sûreté du Québec's (SQ) security plans were inadequate.

During the civil trial, the plaintiffs forced the SQ to admit they didn’t take other threats that day against the Parti Québécois leader seriously and that they left the outside security up to the Montreal police.

There were also major issues with communication.

The problem, as Justice Philippe Belanger heard, was that there was no formal plan between the two police forces on who would do what.

In fact, the SPVM presence was minimal and left the back of the building unsecured. Even Bain said during his trial he was surprised there was so little security.

Surveillance cameras even captured him as he left his vehicle with his firearms less than 100 metres away from the door.

The SQ kept its report on the shooting secret for an entire decade until the judge forced it to release the document.

Closing arguments in the trial will continue for the rest of the week.