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Charges brought in Quebec railway disaster
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2014/05/13/charges-brought-in-quebec-railway-disaster/

Thomas Walsh, Harding’s lawyer, said his client will plead not guilty. Walsh said he had written prosecutors several times asking that Harding to be allowed to turn himself if he was charged. Instead, Walsh said Harding was arrested by a SWAT team that swooped through his home and into his backyard, where he was working on his boat with a son and a friend as he was preparing to watch a Montreal Canadiens playoff game. Police made all three drop to the ground.

“It was a complete piece of theatre that was totally unnecessary,” Walsh told The Associated Press. “I realize that this has been a huge disaster, but this is not necessary for justice to be done. Whatever his legal responsibility may ultimately be … this is not an easy thing to live with in the first place.”

Prosecutors said in a statement that they decided to file the charges after an analysis of the evidence gathered at the scene. Verret said prosecutors had hoped to announce the charges earlier, but they had to find and arrest those charged as well as inform the families of the victims.

The railroad blamed the engineer for failing to set enough brakes, allowing the train to begin rolling toward the lakeside town of 6,000.