A Sûreté du Québec (SQ) police officer lost her life after she went with a colleague to a residence in Louiseville, Mauricie, to arrest an individual in the middle of the evening. , Monday.
The news of the tragic death of Sergeant Maureen Breau was confirmed Tuesday morning in a press release from the Sûreté du Québec. Sergeant Breau had just over 20 years of experience in the SQ; she was assigned to the post of the Regional County Municipality (MRC) of Maskinongé.
According to the Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI), which will have to shed light on what happened, it was the 35-year-old individual who was to be arrested who allegedly stabbed the policewoman when he was read his rights. , a normal procedure during an arrest.
The BEI press release adds that another pair of SQ police officers arrived shortly after and that one of the officers allegedly opened fire on the attacker, who died. The exact circumstances of this other clash were not specified in the press release.
During the intervention, another police officer was injured, but his life is not in danger, according to what the SQ asserts.
The Independent Investigations Office says the case began around 8:30 p.m. Police were to arrest the man for threats that have been made, the nature of which has not yet been revealed.
The investigation by the five BEI investigators was launched less than an hour later. The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) will act as a support police force in this case.
The director general of the Sûreté du Québec, Johanne Beausoleil, said in a press release on Tuesday that it was with great sadness that she learned of the death of Sergeant Breau. She offered condolences to her husband, children, family and co-workers.
The director added that such an ordeal was a reminder of the danger of the police profession in the face of extreme situations such as the one that Sergeant Breau, her fellow police officers and the emergency telecommunications workers who intervened in support had to face.
The SQ adds that a solemn tribute to Sergeant Maureen Breau will be paid later.