Pubdate: Sat, 03 Mar 2007
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2007 Southam Inc.
Contact:  http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: David Johnston, CanWest News Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)

LAVAL OFFICER FATALLY SHOT IN DRUG RAID

Suspect Wounded

MONTREAL - Constable Daniel Tessier, fatally shot in a predawn drug 
raid yesterday, became the second Laval, Que., officer in 15 months 
to be killed in the line of duty.

The death of Const. Tessier, a 42-year-old father of two, will have a 
considerable impact on the morale of the force, Laval's police chief 
said yesterday.

"I would say our people are in deep shock, very heavy shock," Chief 
Jean-Pierre Gariepy told reporters.

Just 15 months ago, another Laval police officer, Constable Valerie 
Gignac, 25, was shot dead while responding to a noise complaint. 
Const. Tessier, who is married to Repentigny, Que., police Constable 
Dominique Lapointe and leaves behind two daughters, aged 10 and 12, 
was shot during a raid on a home in Brossard, a suburb of Montreal.

Laval Constable Stephane Forbes, 46, was shot in the arm and was in 
good condition in hospital yesterday. At least a dozen other officers 
were involved in the raid. A man inside the Brossard home was 
arrested. A woman in the home was also shot during the exchange of 
fire and transported to a hospital, where she remained last night.

A six-year-old girl and a 15- year-old boy -- believed to be the 
children of the man and woman -- were also in the house, said Quebec 
provincial police Lieutenant Francois Dore.

Although Const. Tessier had 17 years of experience with the force, 
yesterday's raid came only a week after his appointment to the drug 
and morality squad of the police force in Laval, a city located north 
of Montreal.

Chief Gariepy said Const. Tessier had undergone specialized training 
and was qualified to handle a situation such as the one that unfolded 
in Brossard around 5 a.m.

"Sometimes ? it's like if you flip a coin. You get lucky or it turns 
out to be the other way. This morning, it turned out the other way."

He later added: "We have dangerous work. And when you do dangerous 
work, there are risks. You have the training, you have all the 
equipment necessary -- but still, you're left with an extremely 
dangerous grey zone. There's always that thin line that when you 
cross it, it's risky, it's dangerous."

Exactly what happened is not yet clear. The Quebec provincial police 
force is handling the investigation. They began their probe yesterday 
by sequestering the officers who took part in the operation and 
questioning them.

At the news conference, the only moment when Chief Gariepy struggled 
to keep his composure was when he described opening up Const. 
Tessier's employment file and discovering he had dropped out of 
civil-engineering studies to become a police officer.

"You could tell from what he wrote on his application form that his 
heart was really into it," the Chief said.

Gilles Lemieux, president of the Laval police union, said of Const. 
Tessier's death: "For us, this is really, really hard. But we will 
work hard on morale."

Const. Tessier will be honoured at a civic funeral that will likely 
take place next Thursday or Friday.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman