Allyson Beauregard
ALLEYN-ET-CAWOOD – The Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DCPP) announced on May 28 that no charges will be laid against the Sûreté du Québec police officer who shot and killed Danford Lake resident Dennis Beaudoin on December 28, 2017.
Allyson Beauregard
ALLEYN-ET-CAWOOD – The Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DCPP) announced on May 28 that no charges will be laid against the Sûreté du Québec police officer who shot and killed Danford Lake resident Dennis Beaudoin on December 28, 2017.
The decision was made after reviewing a report produced by the provincial Independent Investigation Bureau (IIB), which investigates all cases of death due to police intervention to assess whether there were any errors or fault on behalf of the police officer(s) involved.
The incident
On December 28, one of Beaudoin’s parents called 911 claiming their intoxicated son had threatened to kill them. Beaudoin then called 911 himself shortly after
and asked police to meet him at a specified location within the next 20 minutes or he would proceed with his threats.
When police arrived, Beaudoin was armed with a bow, which he aimed at the vehicle. Police parked about 20 meters away and asked him to drop the weapon using the vehicle’s voice amplifier, but he did not comply. When the agent occupying the passenger seat opened the vehicle’s door slightly to exit, Beaudoin fired an arrow at the agent, but missed.
The officer got back in the car and drove to within one meter of the man, who then dropped the bow but grabbed a metal rod. Both officers got out of the car and urged Beaudoin to drop his weapon, but he wouldn’t. They pepper sprayed him twice, but were not able to subdue him.
Beaudoin then quickly moved towards one of the agents and raised the metal bar above his head in a movement that appeared like he was going to hit him, at which point the officer fired at him three times. Beaudoin was transported to hospital where his death was confirmed.
Conclusion
The DCPP said they are satisfied that conditions set out in section 25 of the Criminal Code, which provides protection to peace officers who use force in the enforcement of the law, were met. Subsection 25(3) states that a police officer may, if acting on reasonable grounds, use force likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm if he or she believes it is necessary to protect himself or herself or persons under his or her protection.
The report concludes that police often find themselves having to make difficult decisions when acting quickly: “The police had to intervene to disarm the man. Considering the imminent danger they faced, the weapons used by the individual and his failure to comply on numerous occasions, the police had reasonable grounds to believe that the force applied to the man was necessary to protect them from serious bodily harm or death. Consequently, the DCPP [believes] the use of force by peace officers was justified.”
