Assault on Police Officer at Bayou Country Superfest Caught on Tape
Arrests and disorderly conduct have been a theme coming out of mainstream country music concerts over the last few years, but now one specific incident has been caught on tape, illustrating some of the ugliness that happens when you mix bad music with bad decisions and over-consumption of alcohol.
38-year-old Veronique Bourgault of Quebec, Canada has been charged with battery of a police officer and public intoxication after an incident at Bayou Country Superfest on May 27th in Baton Rouge. The incident started after Bourgault was apparently giving her boyfriend a lap dance in the bleachers while children and families watched on. One fellow concert goer complained that the behavior was inappropriate for his 12-year-old daughter, and alerted authorities. Bourgault initially complied when police told her to stop, but then began shouting vulgarities and making obscene gestures at the family that complained.
Police then told Veronique Bourgault and her boyfriend to leave. Her boyfriend complied, but Bourgault didn’t, wrestling with the officer, refusing to let go of her can of beer, and eventually pulling the officer to the ground where she punched him in the face. The incident can be seen in the video below as Sam Hunt’s “Break Up in a Small Town” plays in the background.
“I then attempted to handcuff the subject…when she pulled away and attacked me,” the officer says in the arrest affadavit. “The subject then knocked me off balance (and) when I fell down the stairs, while on my back, the subject punched me in the face with a closed fist.”
The closed fist punch by Bourgault can be seen (and heard) at the 0:45 mark of the video.
Veronique Bourgault is a mother of four, and the CEO and owner of Garderie Coeur D’enfant Daycare and Preschool in Quebec. She says the arrest and video could affect her business, while some are questioning the force used by officers in the video. “I can’t believe how the police treated me,” Bourgault says. “I have bruises everywhere. In Canada it’s not like this.”
Bourgault was released on $4,500 bail, and is scheduled to be in court on the charges September 19th. Meanwhile her boyfriend has returned to Canada, and the relationship is reportedly over.
Scotty J
June 3, 2016 @ 12:22 pm
Who wouldn’t want to entrust their children to this delightful woman!
RD
June 3, 2016 @ 2:14 pm
So, they broke up in a mid-sized town?
George
June 3, 2016 @ 9:55 pm
As I was reading this article I wanted to make that joke! Haha.
Mike W.
June 3, 2016 @ 2:15 pm
I think my favorite part of that video is at the start of the video where someone yells out a quote from dumb and dumber. The fact that increasingly the mental makeup of people who attend Country music festivals seems to be dropping further and further, there could not possibly be a more relevant quote for this video.
Also, advice to the female involved here, it might not be that way in Quebec, but as someone born and raised in the prairies of Western Canada, you will probably get the same treatment up there when you resist arrest. And really, that’s the moral of the story here, instead of being concerned about the “use of force” involved here, how about everyone take a step back and realize that this all could have been avoided if 1.) The lady decided not to get super intoxicated and 2.) She just complied when the officer confronted her. Amazing how not being high/drunk and complying to the reasonable demands of the officer tends to keep you out of trouble.
Jordan
June 4, 2016 @ 7:42 am
You recognized the quote… haha don’t hate on Dumb and Dumber.
Mike W.
June 4, 2016 @ 10:10 am
Not hating on it at all, it’s a great movie that still holds up today. I just think a lot of the people in the audience at Country festivals fail to realize that that movie is essentially mocking the dumb and stupid and instead have embraced it as some sort of badge of pride. It goes back to the whole redneck phase in Country music, which sure as hell appeared to celebrate being stupid and poor. It would be nice if Country music would have a few more songs that instead of bragging about being dumb and economically screwed, would speak about the harsh realities and truths that come with being broke and on the fringes of society. Of course, in modern Nashville I don’t think any of the songwriters even know anything outside of big trucks and bikini clad women.
kcan
June 3, 2016 @ 3:04 pm
What did parents expect from a Country Festival? Tractor rides and a corn maze?
Toby in AK
June 3, 2016 @ 3:27 pm
As much as I love country music, I’ve never once thought “you know what this song would be great for a lap dance.”
Oh wait, Sam Hunt.
Lap dances are still more country than Sam Hunt.
NorCal Hellbilly
June 3, 2016 @ 4:23 pm
Hahaha
Andrew
June 3, 2016 @ 4:01 pm
Everyone knows that’s how country girls roll…
RD
June 3, 2016 @ 5:26 pm
The cop is too fat and out of shape to do his job.
Kevin
June 3, 2016 @ 5:26 pm
In fairness, I can’t tell if she’s resisting or simply too drunk to stay standing up.
Jon T
June 3, 2016 @ 6:11 pm
I would file a punch in the face under “resistance”.
Nadia Lockheart
June 4, 2016 @ 12:24 am
I’ve long found it fascinating how a lot of corporate country songs are adamant about expressing their love for the military and for other decidedly blue-collar professions……………….but often seem to express a not-too-subtle contempt for “the boys in blue”.
Perhaps that’s percolating into the psyche of some country/”country” festival attendees as well.
Lone Wolf
June 4, 2016 @ 1:06 am
I agree with everyone here on every level. This women should have been completely aware that even if she wasn’t accosted by the police, someone could have videotaped her….which someone did….and her behavior could have gone viral….which it did!! Now she’ll probably lose her job over this, in addition to her boyfriend, and has to deal with the public humiliation. Don’t people like this have the sense God gave a common snail to realize that people with cameras are just itching to use them for something like this???? (sigh)…..smh #mayidiotsreignsupreme
Jim Bob
June 4, 2016 @ 2:13 am
“Stop resisting!” – the call of cops and rapists everywhere.
Eddie666
June 4, 2016 @ 3:17 am
Haha, that cop is a joke! How the hell can a fat fuck like that do his job! He should hide in shame, getting a ass kicking from a little old lady!
Maybe go for a run, instead of the donut shop!
Eddie666
June 4, 2016 @ 3:28 am
Haha, that cop should be ashamed getting an ass kicking from a little old lady. The fat fuck should hide in shame somewhere, and not in the donut shop!
How the hell can someone like that do his job as a cop, says a lot about us society. And now complaining he got beaten up by this chick, haha, what a dick
Sylvie Groleau
June 4, 2016 @ 6:01 am
My Province is making news worldwide with this these days… Not the way that we, Québecois people, want for our Province to be known, What a shame…
Sylvie.
Jordan
June 4, 2016 @ 7:44 am
Canadians… wow. Haha honestly I’m surprised, but maybe there really is something telling from the atmosphere of these concerts, which you could argue used to be a quite a bit more tame than other genres.
Eddie666
June 4, 2016 @ 8:36 am
What’s wrong with a good lapedance anyway? The other couple were probably jealous!
marc
June 4, 2016 @ 9:24 am
I know off topic…after hearing about the death of Muhammad Ali I had to go back and read your 2014 article on Waylon and Ali’s friendship….great piece.
Chris
June 4, 2016 @ 1:55 pm
I would say people do stupid shit when they drink regardless of what music they are into.
Mule
June 4, 2016 @ 6:30 pm
I’m wondering why my first reaction to this article was, “wow – a French-Canadian – in name anyway – at a concert in way down in Cajun-French-friendly Baton Rouge, cool!”
Anyway, considering the boyfriend went back to Canada and left her there, that background music is the most appropo soundtrack I’ve heard in a while!
Adam T.
June 5, 2016 @ 11:06 am
First off, as far as the officer’s weight, I don’t think it impaired his abilities in this situation. Anyone who’s tried to wrangle a drunk friend out of a bar and into a car knows how difficult that can be. Now imagine trying to do that with a stranger, who doesn’t like you, and on a flight of stairs.
This woman had a few options here. She could have simply complied with the initial request to stop her obscene behaviour in front of children. It’s a family event, I know you have the right to dance however you want, but show a little courtesy to the other people who have also paid to be there. It’s not always about you. Second option would be to peacefully walk up the stairs with the officer. More than likely, they would just tell her to calm down and release her. If they had actually kicked her out, then she could get a lawyer and sue or just have a kick ass story for story time at the daycare. If she was arrested, she could get a lawyer and sue. She’d probably make quite a bit of money and she’d be rolling in poutine for years. The last option is, fight the cops, scream more obscenities at other patrons, fall down the stairs while punching a cop, all while it’s being recorded; now lose your business and be publicly shamed.
Is it an increase in narcissism in our culture that causes more and more people to choose that last option? It’s all about the individual doing what they want, right now, when they want, and fv<k everyone else.
Jennifer
June 6, 2016 @ 12:59 pm
Check out the mugshot! http://journalmetro.com/actualites/national/973483/une-quebecoise-arretee-pour-ivresse-en-louisiane/ #stayclassy
You’d think that if security/police were kicking out two people, they would have sent more than one cop to do it in the first place.
Johnnyjo
June 10, 2016 @ 6:43 am
Isn’t there a weight standard for police in that city. The woman was clearly out of control but if the cop was not so middle heavy we wouldn’t have rolled over like humpty dumtpy. It should have been a clean take down and arrest.