An officer from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) declared Monday, during the inquest of coroner Géhane Kamel, that there was not enough collaboration between the police and the mental health system in matters of public security .
Charles Côté said that often, when he tries to obtain basic information about a patient for public safety purposes, he is met with refusal from health-care workers, who cite confidentiality.
Mr. Côté testified at the inquest into the murder of Sergeant Maureen Breau, 42, who was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife on March 27, 2023 by Isaac Brouillard Lessard, a man with a history of health problems mental. Brouillard Lessard, 35, was shot dead by police moments after the attack in Louiseville, in Mauricie.
“At this point, we are fighting to slow down a system that does not work very well, that is the reality in Quebec,” said Officer Côté. He held back tears and said, “I’m here for Maureen. »
Mr. Côté responded to a 911 call at Brouillard Lessard’s apartment on December 30, 2022, a few days after his move to Louiseville. He called the police after a search for a lost cat turned into an altercation between him and a neighbor.
The incident ended without charges, but Charles Côté said he filed an internal report after learning that Brouillard Lessard was being monitored by the Quebec Mental Disorders Examination Commission.
Officer Côté said he learned from a health care worker that Brouillard Lessard had a history of violence against health system employees. But he added that other workers assigned to Brouillard Lessard’s case had refused to speak about him.
In his internal report, Mr. Côté urged other agents to “act with caution” around Brouillard Lessard. The police notice was distributed by email and was still posted on a bulletin board in the police briefing room when Ms. Breau was killed a few months later.
Officer Côté was one of several police officers who interacted with Brouillard Lessard and who will testify in the coming days.
On January 30, his partner, Gabriel Ménard, affirmed during the investigation that police officers often come up against a “wall” when they try to obtain information on mental health cases.
Mr. Ménard had encountered Brouillard Lessard on December 30, 2022 — before Mr. Côté’s arrival at the apartment — when the man approached him to ask for help in finding his cat.
Also on Monday, the investigation heard from Élodie Lévesque, a patrolwoman who had gone to Brouillard Lessard’s home three days before the attack, after the man’s parents had called the police in the hope of having him forcibly hospitalized. due to his deteriorating mental health. He sent threatening text messages and made phone calls to her mother and other family members.
Ms. Lévesque said that although police noticed a katana-style sword and another knife in her apartment during their visit on March 24, 2023, they did not feel they had reason to arrest Brouillard Lessard, despite concerns of his parents.
Several police officers are due to testify this week, including Sergeant Breau’s three colleagues, who were with her the night she was killed; one of the three police officers was seriously injured.
Police received four calls involving Brouillard Lessard between December 2022 and March 27, 2023, when they went to arrest him for uttering threats and violating his probation.
The inquiry has already heard that Brouillard Lessard had been found not criminally responsible on five occasions for offenses in 2014 and 2018. He had also spent a year in a Montreal psychiatric hospital and had been monitored by the Disorders Review Commission mental health professionals in Quebec since 2014.
Last month, Quebec occupational health and safety inspectors told the inquiry that officers did not properly plan their intervention before attempting to arrest Brouillard Lessard.