Joël Desruisseaux, the officer who killed Riley Fairholm in 2018 in Lac-Brome, testified Wednesday as part of a public inquiry into the events. He explained that he felt an imminent danger, and indicated that his life and that of his colleagues were in danger.
Before answering the lawyers’ questions, Joël Desruisseaux turned to the family for sympathy. He then recounted the minutes before the gunshot.
Six policemen aboard three patrol cars responded to a call. A man notified authorities by phone that an armed individual was spreading near the IGA.
There was a man in front of the IGA. He has a rifle. He was wearing black and carrying a bag we hear in English on a call recording.
No one yet knew that Riley Fairholm was behind the call, and the one who sounded the alarm and the shooter were one and the same.
After a brief encounter, six officers drove by and saw the gunman at the corner of Victoria Street and Knowlton Road.
Unable to move, Joël Desruisseaux got out of his car to block himself behind the engine block. He heard the suspect shout in English I have been planning this for five years.
The suspect was agitated, holding a weapon pointed at us sideways sweeping. His actions were abrupt, his erratic gait with no signs of imbalancetestified by Joël Desruisseaux.
His colleague Wallace McGovern spoke through a loudspeaker to the suspect, which he repeatedly repeated in English. Drop your weapon and everything will be ok .
Seconds later, Joël Desruisseaux pulled out his pistol, waited and fired.
From the very beginning I was afraid he would fire, no de-escalation was observed, the man was not reacting to commands. He can reach us mortally at any timehe replied to the coroner, who asked him why he was firing at the time.
Riley Fairholm collapsed, hit in the head. Two police officers were caring for the victim, who succumbed to his injuries at a Cowansville hospital.
An attorney asked Mr. Desruisseaux if another outcome was possible in retrospect. The police decided there was no other alternative, even though the police wanted a peaceful end.
There is information from Guylaine Charette
Radio Canada
Source: Radio-Canada
