Trois-Rivières police are singled out in a domestic violence case. According to our investigation office, the four complaints filed in 11 days in 2020 by Josée Laurendeau were not taken seriously. The inaction of the police would have cost the life of her husband.
This is not the first time that post-separation violence has been minimized: “In everyone’s mind, we end domestic violence by leaving the spouse. What we generally see is that the physical violence decreases, because I have less access to the victim, but that does not put an end to the domination. Sometimes, it goes up to two years before it is resorbed, ”explained the general manager of the La Séjournelle shelter, Denise Tremblay.
For Josée Laurendeau, it is difficult to file a complaint, while fear inhabits her. In addition, she told TVA Nouvelles that she did not feel taken seriously during her discussions with the Trois-Rivières police.
“If you call the police and the police don’t do anything, who are you going to call?” asked M.me Laurendeau.
In October 2020, Josée Laurendeau was close to death, when her ex-spouse, Claude Bergeron, came to her home and opened fire, fatally hitting her new spouse, Mario Lalonde.
After 11 complaints, could the police have intervened to allow a different outcome? The victim’s son, Maxime Lalonde, is calling for changes in the approach of the police. Several questions still haunt the family.
“Why was there no intervention before? I dare to hope that there are good reasons why there was no intervention before. We would really like to hear them (sic)” said Maxime Lalonde.
The Trois-Rivières police department refused our request for an interview because an ethics investigation was filed more than a year ago. It is still ongoing.