Friday » July 18 » 2008 Cop's death reveals training flaw Valérie Gignac shooting; Police academy didn't teach recruits how to break through doors safely JAMES MENNIE The Gazette
Thursday, July 17, 2008 Within three weeks of Laval police Constable Valérie Gignac's being gunned down while answering a disturbance call in December 2005, her 500 colleagues were getting lessons in how to break down a door. It's something the officers did not learn at police academy. "They mention it at (the Quebec police academy in) Nicolet," said Lt. Daniel Guérin of the Laval police department, "but they don't actually teach you how to do it. "They teach that it's dangerous to stand in front of a door. But when we're responding to a 911 call and we hear someone screaming inside, do we crouch down to try to open it? They don't say. "After Valérie died, our training people put together a two- day course. We basically took a metal door frame with a big door and braced it closed, and everyone learned the proper way to break it open, depending on different circumstances." Guérin's comments follow the publication of a report into Gignac's death filed by Quebec's work health and safety commission, better known by its French initials CSST. The report describes the officer's attempt to force open the apartment door by standing in front of it and kicking it as "inappropriate and dangerous." Her attempt, three minutes after Gignac and her partner received the 911 call, was "an intervention based in an inaccurate analysis of the situation," the CSST report says. The CSST ordered the Laval force to start training its officers in proper methods, and also told Nicolet that recruits ought to be getting the correct instruction. Laval has complied, the CSST report says. On Dec. 14, 2005, Gignac and her partner responded to a noise complaint at the apartment of François Pepin, who had already been convicted of uttering death threats and was under a court order not to possess firearms. A loophole in the order allowed Pepin to have a rifle during hunting season, however. And as Gignac tried to kick in Pepin's door, he fired through it with a .338-calibre hunting rifle. The shot tore through Gignac's bulletproof vest. Pepin pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for 12 years. Guérin said the door-breaking courses began in January 2006, and since the manoeuvre isn't covered by the police academy's curriculum, instructors at the Laval force canvassed other police forces in Quebec and outside Canada to see how they went about doing a "strategic entry." Andrée Doré, a spokesperson for Quebec's police academy, confirmed that the school still doesn't provide a course on how to safely break down a door, but does teach would-be officers how to analyze a situation before standing in front of one when they shouldn't. "We stress the idea of analysis - is the action being taken appropriate given the circumstances?" Doré said. "But right now we're also waiting for the results of a coroner's report (into Gignac's death) before we can make any comment. "All of this (information) will contribute to what shape our training will take. We are, at the moment, reviewing our basic training program for patrolling officers." The CSST report on Gignac's death isn't the only investigation Laval police will have to deal with. In about 12 months, a second report is expected on the death of Constable Daniel Tessier, who was shot during a raid on a house in Brossard in March 2007, 15 months after Gignac's killing. Basil Parasiris, a businessman whose home was raided, was charged with the murder of Tessier. Parasiris, 42, testified the police didn't identify themselves and he thought the raid was a home invasion. And after a trial during which the judge ruled the warrant issued to raid Parasiris's home was unconstitutional and jurors heard how 18 shots were fired in 30 seconds, Parasiris was acquitted. Éric Tetrault, chief of staff to Quebec Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis, said the government isn't concerned about the quality of training for Laval police officers. "When the training received at (Nicolet) isn't followed, it's for the police force involved to explain why that training wasn't followed," he said. "It's not the minister's role to ask about the methods used by each police force." Guérin, meanwhile, notes that recent jurisprudence broadening the power of police to forcibly enter residences simply means the metal door frame they've set up will continue to get a workout. "An incident like (Gignac's death) doesn't mean we're not going to answer a call from someone who's dialled 911 and the door's locked. We'll break it down to get to them. "But we also know there are risks in this job, and that every time we put on our uniform, we're a target." 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