Codiac RCMP officers found not responsible for man's death
Two Codiac RCMP officers who shot a Moncton man four times in July 2013 were not responsible for his death, according to an investigation led by the Fredericton Police Force.
The Fredericton Police were handed the investigation following the shooting almost a year ago of Daniel Levesque, 30.
Insp. Gary Forward said the investigation into the shooting has been wrapped up.
Forward said an autopsy revealed stab wounds that were received before the shooting were the cause of death and not the four gunshot wounds.
"The original investigation also determined that reasonable force was used by the RCMP officers who acted in accordance with their training to mitigate risk to the public and themselves during their encounter with Mr. Levesque," according to a statement issued by the Fredericton Police.
The Codiac RCMP responded to a complaint at about 6 a.m. in July 2013 of someone who was armed breaking into a vehicle near the Moncton Coliseum. RCMP officers arrived at the scene with a canine unit and went looking for the individual.
After about an hour looking for the person, Forward said the officers noticed a man who appeared to be holding a knife and told him to stop.
"He kept coming toward police aggressively," he said.
That is when the police fired their weapons. Forward said all four gunshots hit the suspect but none hit vital organs.
While the investigation into the shooting is now over, the Fredericton Police are still probing Levesque’s death.
There is no timeline on when that investigation will be finished.
The police haven't ruled out any possibilities on how Levesque received the stab wounds or whether they were self-inflicted.
