Neither the head of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) intelligence service nor the head of close security for Pauline Marois in 2012 was aware of the six threats made against the leader of the Parti Québécois on the evening of the Metropolis attack. , we learned Monday at the civil lawsuit brought by four survivors against the police.
Posted at 1:56 p.m.
Updated at 7:54 p.m.
The only report aiming to shed light on the attack – and which remains hidden from the public – reveals that Pauline Marois was targeted by six threats, including two on social networks, between 5:38 p.m. and 8:32 p.m. of the 2012 elections. But surprisingly, no security official at the SQ at the time seems to have details of these mysterious threats.
” [Les menaces] were not significant enough to notify me and modify my operations. I will be notified of potential threats that will influence security on the ground, ”said Dominique Langelier, current head of the Intelligence and State Protection Service within the provincial police, on Monday. He held a similar post during the 2012 election campaign.
Even today, Dominique Langelier knows absolutely nothing about the nature or seriousness of these six threats. It was even only in 2018, during this trial, that he learned of its existence, he admitted, reading the brief executive report prepared by his boss, Louis Bergeron.
Moreover, he was not consulted for this report, which the Attorney General of Quebec opposes the filing in evidence.
The SQ essentially used its usual recipe on the evening of the 2012 elections. About twenty SQ police officers were thus deployed on the ground: four bodyguards to protect Pauline Marois, two others for her husband, eight agents to protect the premises and five intelligence agents mingled with the crowd to detect threats.
An SQ policeman was positioned inside, in front of the back door of the Metropolis, but no one was protecting this door on the outside, even though it was the Prime Minister’s “escape route” in the event of an accident. ’emergency. It is precisely there that Richard Henry Bain opened fire on the stage technicians huddled together on the stairs, killing Denis Blanchette and seriously injuring Dave Courage.
“It was the procedure at the time,” explained Dominique Langelier, adding that a police officer was watching the front entrance of the Metropolis at all times.
“We didn’t think it was necessary. Normally, it is ensured by the outer perimeter, “defended Sergeant Frédéric Desgagnés, team leader of Pauline Marois’ close guard in 2012. The exterior of the Métropolis was under the responsibility of the Service de police de la City of Montreal (SPVM), in the eyes of the SQ. According to several witnesses, there was no policeman in this sector to block the path of the shooter, who was nevertheless dressed in a dressing gown and a balaclava.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Sergeant Frédéric Desgagnés, of the SQ, took care of the security of Pauline Marois the evening of the Metropolis attack. He testified Monday at the Montreal courthouse.
No SQ police officer was also protecting Pauline Marois’ escape vehicle. “It was not customary to leave someone in the vehicle,” explained Sergeant Desgagnés. The policeman, who still holds the same position today, “validated the security plan” of the SQ on the evening of September 4, 2012.
The policeman said he hastened to evacuate Pauline Marois on the scene when he heard an explosion. At the time, however, he thought it was the “confetti cannon” launched too soon, he said.
Sergeant Desgagnés maintains that it was impossible to foresee that Richard Henry Bain was going to commit an attack. It was an “unpredictable and irrational” threat, he insisted. “We couldn’t know,” defended Dominique Langelier.
Pauline Marois was not the target of any threat during the electoral campaign.
The stakes were with the Liberal Party: the Plan Nord, the Charbonneau commission and the student strike.
Dominique Langelier. Head of Intelligence and State Protection Service
The “Plan” of security for the 2012 campaign mentioned in the lawsuit noted six threats targeting the leaders, including students, shale gas and “radical separatists”. A “hysterical” person carrying a flag of the Patriots was also expelled by the police at Metropolis, underlined Sergeant Desgagnés.
Dave Courage is still “suffering”
Ten years after being close to death, Dave Courage is still only “surviving” on a daily basis. “I suffer every day, I deal with it, I’m not the only one who suffers. I try to stay positive,” he said on the sidelines of the trial. Dave Courage was seriously injured by the bullet fired by Richard Henry Bain.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Dave Courage, at the Montreal courthouse
Even if he is not part of the current action, Dave Courage wanted to be present to “morally support” his technician friends. “They are all my brothers, we are a family of technicians,” he explained. Dave Courage’s lawsuit against the government was settled a few years ago.
The trial continues this Tuesday at the Montreal courthouse.