Kim Lebel’s mother denounced Monday a “slow” and “haywire” system, while her son, accused of the murder of a neighbor, had not received the psychiatric care requested by his parents before the tragedy.
Posted at 2:43 p.m.
Lucie Drouin and her spouse, Daniel Lebel, took part in a press conference in Quebec on Monday. On behalf of both of them, she wanted to send “our most sincere condolences to the family” of the victim, “who suffered a senseless death that day”.
The events occurred on April 6 in Lac-Saint-Charles, in the afternoon. Kim Lebel, 30, was then in crisis and allegedly attacked Jacques Côté, 65, with a metal bar, while both were in the street.
Two officers from the Service de police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ) had visited Kim Lebel a few days earlier, on April 4, but had not seen fit to intervene. “I can tell you that it was quite brief, because about twenty minutes later, they were at our house to tell us that they had spoken to him and that despite the inconsistency at certain times, he was responding correctly,” said declared Mme Drouin in a press release. “At that time, Daniel and I repeatedly insisted that they go get him and especially meet a psychiatrist. We insisted on our fear vis-à-vis the actions that our son could take, in vain.
By the morning of April 6, the accused’s parents had obtained a court order for a psychiatric examination.
At noon, the parents had gone to an office of the SPVQ, prescription in hand, to request an emergency intervention, but the police response had been delayed. “I repeat to the police the situation, the psychosis, dangerousness for us and society, and for him too”, wrote Mme Drouin, remembering having said “hurry up, send a patrol, it’s dangerous, quickly, do something!” »
Eventually, officers reportedly told the couple they were going to “look and do background checks.”
The police did not arrive on the scene until late afternoon, after the attack occurred.
Two days later, on April 8, the Office of Independent Investigations announced that four investigators had been assigned to shed light “on the circumstances of the intervention”. The parents’ lawyer, Mr.and Marc Bellemare, had previously made the request to the Minister of Public Security, Geneviève Guilbault.
The investigation into the homicide was entrusted to the Sûreté du Québec.
“How can the mayor of Quebec claim to have ‘total confidence’ in the Quebec police after what happened? “, protested Mme Drouin, referring to a remark by Mayor Bruno Marchand made in the wake of the events.