OC Transpo Case Study
The Importance of Formal Workplace Investigations
In Chapter 14, we will continue to review the need to address workplace incidents in a timely manner to ensure such incidents do not escalate further. From time-to-time, Human Resources professionals will face workplace incidents that involve threats, intimidation, bullying, harassment, sexual harassment or violence. Such incidents can escalate into a workplace injury or death.
The OC Transpo case study is being examined to understand and reflect on the important role a Human Resources professional has in conducting and acting on formal workplace investigations.
Content Warning: The following case study includes details of a tragic workplace incident that resulted in multiple fatalities. This case study includes information and details that are difficult to read. Reader discretion is advised.
The OC Transpo Case Study
In 1999, Pierre Lebrun entered the OC Transpo, his former place of employment, and killed 4 of his co-workers. It is alleged that Pierre had been the victim of teasing by some of his co-workers based on his speech impediment. Pierre had been a 13-year employee at the OC Transpo organization before quitting his job and eventually returning to the organization with a weapon.
As a Human Resources professional, it is important to recognize the role we play in workplace harassment that can quickly turn into workplace violence.
Case Summary
The following was cited from a City News article written by James Powell called Remember This? The OC Transpo Massacre:
It began on a normal, early spring, Tuesday afternoon.
At about 2:30 p.m., Pierre Lebrun, a shy, 40-year-old man who had left OC Transpo’s employ the previous January, pulled into the bus company’s garage at 1500 St. Laurent Blvd. in the city’s east end. He parked his 1997 Pontiac Sunfire a few yards away from a supervisor’s office. After getting out of his car, he pulled out a high-powered, Remington, pump-action rifle capable of killing a moose from a mile away. Entering the building, Lebrun shouted out a line from the movie The Terminator “It’s Judgement Day!”
Lebrun quickly fired his first shot that reportedly hit a steel drum before going through a metal locker and lodging in a computer monitor. Fragments struck two men, Richard Guertin and Joe Casagrande, injuring them, fortunately not seriously. Both fled down a hall, shouting for someone to call 911. A message quickly went out over the PA system that there was a man in the garage with a loaded gun. The more than 150 occupants of the building tried to get out of the building or hid in lockers or under tables.
Walking down a hallway, Lebrun claimed his first victim, shipper Brian Guay, 46, shooting him in the chest.
Stepping over Guay’s prostrate body, Lebrun continued into the interior of the garage where a group of people were taking a coffee break at the back of a bus. The workers watched in horror as Lebrun fired a third time, killing mechanic Harry Schoenmakers, 44, before entering the bus where the terrified workers were standing. With his gun across his shoulder, he swore at them and snarled, “You think it’s funny now.”
Lebrun did not shoot but instead left the garage bay, set a small fire in a chemical room, and proceeded to a store room where four men were sitting. There, Lebrun claimed his third and fourth victims, Clare Davidson, 52, and David Lemay, 35.
Leaving the store room, Lebrun walked upstairs to a loft that overlooked the engine room. A few seconds later, another shot rang out. Lebrun had killed himself. (Powell, 2019, paragraphs 4-10)
Read the article outlining a tragic workplace incident that resulted in multiple workplace fatalities based on the actions of former OC Transpo employee Pierre Lebrun.
Explain the ways in which a Human Resources professional could address an ongoing workplace incident such as the incidents at OC Transpo with a focus on avoiding and eliminating the threat of harassment, bullying, teasing, and violence that may result in a workplace injury or death.
Step Three: Reflect on this case study and share the learning lessons and the way in which it has impacted you.
Case summary from “Remember This? The OC Transpo massacre” by James Powell, used under Fair Dealing for Educational Purposes (Canada).
