The police officer who pulled the trigger on Fredy Villanueva had no reason to fire, said one of the men shot in Montreal North along with Villanueva two years ago.
Villanueva's friend Denis Meas said Monday during the coroner's inquest into the teenager's death that he was shot in the right shoulder by police officer Jean-Loup Lapointe, despite Lapointe not being in any immediate danger.
Lapointe earlier testified he pulled his gun and fired because a group of men was about to jump on him as he tried to place Fredy's brother, Dany Villanueva, under arrest.
Meas contradicted that, telling coroner Andre Perreault Lapointe stood at a distance all along. Meas said he and his friends obeyed a police order to step back, adding that he never felt Dany Villanueva resisted arrest.
Meas testified to hearing gunshots and seeing Fredy Villanueva fall. He said he then felt a bullet enter his shoulder.
Contradictions
Meas was confronted in court by his own contradictions, including a police deposition he provided a day after the 2008 shooting confirming the established story that he and his friends, including Dany Villanueva, never obeyed police.
Meas refuses to recognize his original statement and told the court he doesn't remember talking to investigators, and doesn't remember giving a statement. Meas also won't confirm signing his own declaration.
Teenager's death a "murder"
If Meas's testimony is accurate, it would prove Lapointe was never in immediate danger of being attacked.
When asked how he felt about the events of that day, Meas told Perreault:: "For me, what agent Lapointe did was murder. How can he justify what he did?"
The inquest continues all week.
