The lack of training of multiple patrol officers of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) contributed to the death of Sergeant Maureen Breau, stabbed on duty on March 27 by a man with a disturbed mental state, according to an investigation report of the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) including Of thevblack got a copy. The Association of Provincial Police Officers of Quebec (APPQ) is urging the Ministry of Public Security to legislate on mandatory training hours.
“You want to be a lawyer at the Bar, you have legal obligations, otherwise you lose your practice. So why aren’t we requiring that this training be in place and done? » comments Jacques Painchaud, president of the APPQ, who is pressing Quebec to impose 36 hours of annual training. Currently, each police officer receives an average of 5.23 days of training per year, according to SQ figures.
Contacted by The dutythe Ministry of Public Security did not wish to comment.
At the end of six months of investigation, the CNESST noted four exemptions for which the SQ must establish “concrete and measurable corrective measures and present an intervention plan before January 21.”
“Our analytical approach for the investigation leads us to note shortcomings that are directly linked to the event of March 27, 2023,” we can read in a 43-page report.
A known need
“The Minister of Public Security will have to take action and take note of the intervention report which has accumulated on top of our demands on the needs for continuing training and maintenance of skills,” notes Mr. Painchaud. He insists on the fact that numerous recommendations from the Coroner’s Office as well as his organization have highlighted the importance of remedying the lack of training of police officers when intervening with people in crisis.
The CNESST report reveals in particular that 65% of SQ patrol officers and relief supervisors have still not received the training to intervene with disorganized people.
The report highlights that Response to a Disturbed Mental State (REMP) training has been deployed within the SQ since October 2020 and that it constitutes “a significant culture change”.
The aim of establishing this specialized training was to reduce the number of deaths during police interventions, particularly among people in crisis.
However, “the low number of police officers trained in certain stations, the incomprehension of what[est ce type d’intervention] and its importance by several SQ stakeholders have a negative impact on the implementation of this working method,” we can read in the report.
Remember that Sergeant Breau, 42, died on March 27 while she and a teammate were arresting a man at his home. According to the Independent Investigations Office, he suddenly grabbed a nearby knife and stabbed the policewoman. Isaac Brouillard Lessard, 35, was then shot and killed. He suffered from mental health problems and was known to the police.
The report does not specify whether Sergeant Breau and the other patrol officers present during the intervention were adequately trained.
“Why are we here? Because large police organizations, when they have to reduce or have budgetary difficulties, resource problems, the place where cuts are made is in training,” laments Mr. Painchaud.
The SQ claims to have acted even before the CNESST report was filed, but cannot comment so as not to harm the investigations still in progress. “We added ten instructors to the training team in order to accelerate the rate of training deployment,” says Ann Mathieu, media relations coordinator for the police force. REMP training has also been included in the patroller reception and integration program since the fall.
As for the delays in the requalification of several police officers also mentioned in the report, the SQ mentions that training in maintaining skills in the use of force has been developed and will be deployed annually, starting in spring 2024. According to the report, the last use of force training for certain police officers dates back more than ten years.
COVID Recruits
Another breach noted concerns some of the recruits hired during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the document, they did not benefit from the learning by scenarios (real-life situations) and the teaching on the use of intermediate weapons normally provided before taking up their position.
According to the APPQ, the SQ hires an average of 200 new police officers each year.
In spring 2024, training called Maintaining Police Intervention Skills will also be available and given annually to all patrol officers and relief supervisors.
Poorly trained supervisors
According to figures provided by the SQ during the investigation, only 56% of current relief sergeants have received the necessary training.
In addition, patrol officers regularly act as relief officers. “These patrol officers, who thereby become field supervisors, have no training in supervision and sometimes only have a few months of police experience,” the report indicates.
The Sûreté says it is working to make up for a certain delay in terms of the deployment of this training while specifying that relief supervisors have access “to a management resource at all times through the presence of the Monitoring and Operational Coordination Center”.
The lack of staff is also pointed out, a situation which forces certain non-urban positions to include relief supervisors in the staff to meet the minimum required for the territory.
During the intervention that cost her her life, Sergeant Breau was acting as a relief supervisor at the MRC Maskinongé station and working overtime.
“We note that this dual function does not allow the supervisor to ensure true and effective supervision of the work since he must carry out the patrolling task and respond, on the front line, to calls from citizens,” specifies the report.
“We should be better trained because we only have to rely on ourselves in many circumstances,” reiterates the president of the APPQ.