Michel Ouellet@Sheriff_Mike__
THE QUEBEC JOURNAL WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2002
Investigation into the death of a detainee... 6 years after his death
Constable Michel Ouellet, of the Quebec Municipal Police, made a statement last fall to the Quebec Provincial Police (SQ) alleging that a "criminal offense might have been committed in relation to the events surrounding the death of detainee Stéphane Paradis, in the cells of the Quebec City Police Central, already six years ago, on July 2, 1996.
These allegations led Minister Serge Ménard to decree the holding of a Ministerial inquiry, which was entrusted to the Montreal City Police Service.
The nine investigators designated by the ministerial inquiry, led by Director Michel Sarrazin, have already questioned Quebec police officers at the end of April and the beginning of May, with more interrogations to come.
This case has just come to light while four of the officers targeted by the investigation, Lieutenant Pierre Voisard, Sergeant Suzanne Drolet, and Constables France Chevarie and Richard C. Renaud are appealing to the Superior Court to replace the current investigators, on the grounds that they may have violated the provisions of the Police Act.
Essentially, they are accused of violating the rights of the officers by interrogating some of them who are targeted by Ouellet's criminal offense allegations, without giving them the right to be assisted by a lawyer nor providing them with the full text of their colleague's complaint. The Quebec police officers, it is argued, were summoned as witness officers and, as such, according to the law, they are only required to provide a complete, written, and signed statement to questions previously submitted by the investigators, in addition to handing over a copy of their personal notes and all reports relating to the complaint.
The conduct of the investigators in question amounts to an abuse of rights, a glaring lack of transparency and objectivity, such that they can no longer work within the framework of the ministerial investigation.
Overdose
Stéphane Paradis, a 20-year-old individual well known to the police, was arrested in the late afternoon of July 2, 1996, while he was shouting at passersby and climbing on cars. He was under the influence of drugs and was placed in a holding cell due to his aggressive behavior. At 7 p.m., according to the police version given at the time, he was found unconscious. After being handcuffed, he was transported to the hospital, where his death was confirmed. The autopsy concluded that it was not a suicide and that Paradis had not been subjected to violence.
The hypothesis of a drug overdose appeared to be the most probable.
Intimidation
Constable Michel Ouellet, according to the summary of his complaint made on October 12, to the SQ, and which appears in the request of the four officers, was called to assist the paramedics. He claims that he was forced to handcuff Paradis, who, according to him, "lay lifeless in the holding cell." He also claims that the paramedics and Constable France Chevarie were in a state of panic.
Like all his colleagues present in the cell block, he made a statement that was submitted to the SQ. The constable claims that, since these events, he has been subjected to pressure and intimidation by fellow police officers.
Sergeant Drolet allegedly threatened to fire him. Lieutenant Voisard, according to his claims, made it clear to him that Quebec police officers do not always act within the law. Constable Chevarie reportedly told him she had adjusted her statement "in consultation with Lieutenant Voisard, and was told she had done well. As for Constable Renaud, he allegedly stated, in the presence of his mother, that his life and Ouellet's "could be threatened. #FAKENEWS #CENSORED
