Article content

The Sûreté du Québec officer who was involved in a car crash on the South Shore last year that resulted in the death of five-year-old Nicolas Thorne-Belance was suspended with pay after he was charged with dangerous driving causing death.

An SQ spokesperson said the decision to suspend Patrick Ouellet was made this week after the provincial police were informed he was charged with the Criminal Code offence, which carries a maximum 14-year sentence upon conviction. The first court date in Ouellet’s case has been set for June.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or SQ officer involved in crash that killed child charged with dangerous driving causing death Back to video

On Tuesday, the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP) announced the decision to charge Ouellet after receiving a report from the special committee assembled last year to review the evidence filed in the Montreal police investigation of the Feb. 13, 2014, collision in Longueuil.

Initially, Crown prosecutors in the Longueuil court district decided no criminal charges would be filed against Ouellet, who was reportedly working on a surveillance team that was following Robert Parent, the former director of the Quebec Liberal Party, during an investigation by Quebec’s UPAC anti-corruption police unit.