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Brutality CanadaPolice Brutality O Canada |
June 24, 2001 The Journal de Montreal, quoting the suspect's brother in today's paper, identifies the Mountie as Jocelyn Hotte, a member of the RCMP's International Liaison and Protective Operations Directorate. Hotte, a former Canadian Forces firefighter, has 17 years of service with the RCMP.
(From the CBC web site)
VILLE ST-LAURENT, QUE. - Police have a suspect in custody after a drive-by shooting on highway 40, in Ville St-Laurent. He is a 42-year-old RCMP officer.
A 37-year-old woman was killed and three people were seriously injured in the incident, which took place some time around ten o'clock Saturday night.
Police say two cars were driving alongside each other, when the driver of one car began shooting at the people in the other car. All four people were shot.
Surete du Quebec officer Jean Finet says the suspect had badges and papers in his car, which identified him as an RCMP officer.
Finet says the suspect was connected to the woman driver who was killed: "The suspect," he says, "was the ex-boyfriend of the victim."
Finet says police arrested the suspect almost right away.
"An S-Q officer was at the scene," he says, "and arrested the suspect a short time later in Laval."
The suspect is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
Monday 25 June 2001
ALYSON GRANT
The Gazette
An off-duty RCMP officer, who walked casually into a gas station and bought a soft drink shortly after his ex-girlfriend was killed in a drive-by shooting, is to appear in court tomorrow to face a charge of murder.
"He looked like a normal customer," said Nick, the cashier on duty at the Petro-Canada station on Cure Labelle Blvd. in Laval about 10:15 p.m. Saturday, about 15 minutes after the shooting of Lucie Gelinas, 37, of Laval and three men traveling with her on Highway 40 near Exit 15 in St. Laurent.
The suspect didn't say a word, but he didn't appear nervous or anxious, added Nick, who declined to have his last name printed. Police refused to reveal the 42-year-old Mountie's name until he is formally charged tomorrow.
Police say a man driving alone in a forest-green Honda SUV was heading east on Highway 40 near the Laurentian Autoroute when he opened fire on a nearby car, which Gelinas was driving, Surete du Quebec spokesman Pierre Robichaud said yesterday.
Gelinas died in Montreal General Hospital shortly after the shooting.
Three passengers in the car with her were injured. Two are in critical condition in a hospital; the third is in stable condition.
Robichaud said the suspect could face other charges, including assault and illegal discharge of a firearm.
Two provincial police officers happened to witness the shooting and discreetly followed the man's car while calling for backup, Robichaud said.
The backup Surete officers caught up with the shooting suspect at the gas station shortly afterward.
Nick, the Petro-Can cashier, said a man came into the station, walked to the coolers in the back and got a 7Up.
As he was coming toward the cash, police officers knocked on the window beside the cash and motioned for Nick to get down.
"It's unexpected, you know, to turn around and have shotguns pointed at you," Nick said.
The police then ran into the station and shouted at the suspect to raise his hands and get on his knees.
Within 10 to 15 seconds, police had taken the suspect out of the gas station, Nick said.
The suspect did not resist arrest. A standard RCMP-issue handgun was found in his car. The RCMP referred all inquiries about the incident to the Surete, who are conducting the investigation.
Nick described the man as about 5 feet, 7 inches tall, with brown or black hair and an athletic build.
Jun. 26, 2001. 01:30 AM The Toronto Star
MONTREAL (CP) - A veteran RCMP officer was charged yesterday with first-degree murder after a highway shooting left his former girlfriend dead and three other people injured.
Constable Jocelyn Hotte, of an elite RCMP squad responsible for security for dignitaries, was also charged with three counts of attempted murder.
Hotte, 42, looked haggard and drawn in a wrinkled white T-shirt in Quebec court.
Lawyer Eric Downs elected a trial by judge and jury for his client. He said a plea of not guilty was automatically entered on Hotte's behalf to the charge of first-degree murder.
Downs said his client has mental health problems, but did not elaborate. He asked that Hotte be placed at Pinel Institute, a psychiatric facility, until he returns to court Thursday for Hotte's own security and not for any psychiatric testing.
Lucie Gelinas, a single mother of two, was driving a car late Saturday night on a major Montreal highway when another motorist opened fire, killing her and injuring three of her male passengers, two seriously.
One victim, whom an official at Sacre Coeur Hospital said was shot several times, is on a respirator but expected to live.
Another victim, Pierre Mainville, 27, was struck in the back and is paralyzed from the waist down. His family confirm he's in intensive care at Montreal General.
Mainville's parents said their son ended up in the car by chance, taking a last-minute lift to a Montreal bar to celebrate Féte nationale. They said the foursome in the car saw Gelinas' ex-boyfriend before they left her home in Ste-Dorothée that night and invited him to follow them in his car.
Reprinted under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law.
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This page updated June 28, 2001
