40 years ago, when armed bank robberies were commonplace in the province, a Brink’s agent was coldly murdered by robbers. In a poorly organized raid, the Sherbrooke police officers shortly after shot dead an innocent carpet installer who they believed to be their suspect with a burst of machine guns, making this operation one of the most publicized police blunders in history. .
• Read also – Rock Forest shooting: son grew up without a father because of the police
On December 21, 1983, two security guards were ambushed by thieves when they had just left a commercial intersection to collect money. The bandits seize the loot, $53,000, and shoot agent Yvan Charland, 37, in the face.
Two days later, the Sherbrooke police investigators responsible for the case received information that the two occupants of room #5 of the Le Chatillon motel, located in the small town of Rock Forest, less than 10 kilometers from Sherbrooke , bear a striking resemblance to the sketches of thieves broadcast in the media.
It was in room #5 of the Le Chatillon motel that the tragedy occurred.
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A sketch released by the authorities after the crime.
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No verification
Very quickly, an operation is launched, and a handful of police officers are deployed in front of the motel in the early morning in order to surprise those they believe to be their suspects. Curiously, no checks are made on the vehicle of the occupants of the room, which is in the parking lot, and no one thinks it is worth evacuating customers from neighboring rooms for prevention. [voir encadré].
“It was really the Wild West at the time,” remembers Serge Labrosse, former journalist at Montreal Journalwhich extensively covered the event.
“The police had somewhat confusing procedures, they arrived too quickly, without doing the necessary checks. At that time, there was a wave of armed robberies and the police were a little on edge.”
Versions differ
This is where the story gets complicated – almost all the police officers and witnesses gave different versions of events in their initial statements, during the public coroner’s inquest and during the trial. Sometimes even two separate stories per police officer.
What is established is that the main investigator in the case heard an explosion near him and believed that “the suspects” were shooting in his direction. Believing he was acting in self-defense, André Castonguay opened fire with an Uzi submachine gun and fired a total of 20 bullets through the door. But in the end, it was his colleague, Roger Dion, who had just fired a warning shot.
The Uzi submachine gun was brought into the courtroom during the trial.
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In a rare interview given to Radio-Canada in 2019, four years before his death, André Castonguay returned to the events and admitted to never having felt guilty due to the circumstances.
Lawyer Michel Proulx accompanies the police officers involved in the Rock Forest shooting, André Castonguay and Roger Dion.
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Serge Beaudoin, a carpet installer and father from Quebec, was hit by eight bullets, including one which punctured his lung and hit his heart. Jean-Paul Beaumont, his colleague, was shot in the head. He survived.
During the trial, police officers claimed to have kicked the door down. They say they then opened fire after Serge Beaudoin tried to rush at them.
Jean-Paul Beaumont and other witnesses have always denied this version, claiming that the door was blocked by a security chain when they tried to open it. In his testimony, Mr. Beaumont even says he had to remove the chain from its base after the shooting in order to let the police enter to arrest him.
Jean-Paul Beaumont carrying the coffin of his friend Serge Beaudoin during his funeral.
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Nothing to do with theft
It was quickly established that the carpet installers had nothing to do with the robbery and murder of the Brink’s agent.
Although the coroner’s inquest concluded that the police officers should be held criminally responsible for the murder, the jury at the trial determined otherwise. They were acquitted.
The Beaudoin family in shock after the verdict was delivered.
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Two days later, they were reinstated and a ceremony was held. André Castonguay subsequently rose through the ranks to become big boss of criminal investigations. Roger Dion also had a successful career, notably receiving a medal of bravery from the Governor General of Canada for a completely different intervention in 1992.
► The still living police officers involved in this raid refused our interview request, as did Jean-Paul Beaumont and the Beaudoin family.
The series of errors that led to this police blunder:
1- Operation done quickly
The operation at the Le Chatillon motel was organized so quickly that some of the police officers involved were not even in position when the shots were fired. Only an hour passed between the time police believed they located the suspects at the motel and the time Serge Beaudoin was lying on the ground.
2- No verification on the plate
Serge Beaudoin’s vehicle, registered in his name, was parked very close to his motel room. It was shown at trial that no check had been made with his plate.
3- They don’t announce themselves
All witnesses to the scene, including survivor Jean-Paul Beaumont, the other customers and the owner, claimed to have never heard the police announce themselves – for example by shouting “Police! Open!” – before opening the door and pulling.
4- Sherbrooke equipped for such a raid?
During the trial and the public inquiry, several people highlighted the fact that it would have been important to notify the Sûreté du Québec of their plans. The provincial police had more experience in this type of situation and could also have made specialists available to them, such as intelligence experts or a negotiator. Questioned on this subject, the person in charge of the investigation simply replied that he would have had to wait three hours for the SQ and that time was running out.
5- Collateral victims
Despite the request of the motel owner, the police refused to evacuate the neighboring rooms so as not to wake the suspects. A citizen of Edmonton, who was sleeping soundly, came within a hair’s breadth of receiving a bullet in the head when it lodged on his headboard. During his testimony, the man said that when the police came to see him, they offered him to keep the bullet as a souvenir.
6- Four days before the file is transferred
Even though their colleagues were in hot water, the Sherbrooke police officers began the investigation and did not see fit to transfer it to an independent police force. The Sûreté du Québec finally took over the reins four days later, after intense media coverage. The Sherbrooke police kept the evidence for a long time and, at one point, even lost the main one – the door with 21 bullet holes.
The famous door of room #5 of the Le Chatillon motel was pierced with 21 bullet holes.
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After being misplaced for months by Sherbrooke police, the door was finally brought into the courtroom during the trial so that the jury could examine it.
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