The Montreal policeman who shot Fredy Villanueva told the first officer to arrive on the scene that he was under attack when he pulled the trigger.

But the provincial police officer in charge of the investigation told a coroner’s inquest Tuesday there was little evidence to back up that claim.

Information from Const. Jean-Loup Lapointe’s report was released by Lapointe’s lawyer, Pierre Dupras, during the cross-examination of Quebec provincial police Sgt.-Det. Bruno Duchesne.

Quebec Court Judge André Perreault is presiding over the inquiry into Villanueva's shooting death in Aug. 9, 2008, an event that ignited long-simmering tension between residents and police in the working-class community of Montreal North.

Sgt.-Detective Bruno Duchesne is expected to continue his testimony Wednesday. (CBC)A few hours after the shooting, before he had been put in charge of the case, Duchesne said Montreal police had issued a press release describing how Lapointe and the other officer on the scene at the time of the shooting had been “circled by a group of individuals.”

But Duchesne said the evidence he gathered from scores of witnesses never bore out that version of events.

Duchesne said one of the other two men shot by police that day, Denis Meas, had reported hearing Lapointe's partner, Const. Stéphanie Pilotte, yell “Back up” and complied with the order.

Meas estimated he was six metres away when he felt the bullet, Duchesne said.

The third man who was shot, Jeffrey Sagor Météllus, said Villanueva had grabbed Lapointe by the collar.

Sagor Metellus gave police such detailed evidence that Duchesne sent his team back to hospital three times to talk to him. The final time, officers asked Sagor Météllus to swear an oath because he was a known street gang member with a criminal record, Duchesne said.

The medical report he received later regarding Lapointe indicated no signs of bruising or any other signs he had been choked.

However, Duchesne said other evidence shows just how close Villanueva was to the officer when he was shot.

The gunpowder traces on his clothing placed him about 38 centimetres from the barrel of Lapointe’s gun.

The pathologist who did the autopsy told provincial police investigators Villanueva appeared to be reaching over the officer when he was shot three times.

Several witnesses said Villanueva had been trying to prevent Lapointe from arresting his brother.

Danny Villanueva already had a criminal record, was facing new charges for armed robbery and possession of a weapon and risked deportation.

No preferential treatment

During Tuesday’s hearing, lawyers for the Montreal Police Brotherhood tried to change impressions that the officers involved in the shooting received preferential treatment from investigators.Montreal Police Brotherhood lawyer Michael Stober says the officers acted by the book. (CBC)

On Monday, Duchesne acknowledged that while the other witnesses were kept in separate vehicles to avoid contaminating their testimony, Lapointe and Pilotte were allowed to drive back to the police station together.

While Pilotte turned in her report on the incident to her supervisors one week after the incident, Lapointe didn’t do so until a full month later and refused to speak to investigators.

But everything was done by the book, said Montreal Police Brotherhood lawyer Michael Stober.

“We also know from watching TV, particularly American TV, that everybody has the right to counsel, particularly the right to silence. Well, police officers have those rights too,” Stober said.

The inquest could hear testimony from Pilotte as early as Wednesday.

Between 50 and 60 witnesses will be heard over 34 days of hearings, scheduled between now and May 2010. There may be delays because of the availability of witnesses and lawyers.