“The tragic death of my partner still haunts me,” said Daniel Sanscartier, the spouse of police officer Maureen Breau, killed on duty a year ago in Louiseville. During the coroner’s inquest into her death, he excoriated those who had intervened in the past with Isaac Brouillard Lessard, a mentally ill man who killed her during a police intervention.
“I am left with a bitter taste,” he said in a letter read to the inquest by a family friend on Wednesday morning.
“They could have done better and changed the course of history. In the end, it was my partner who paid the price. »
According to him, the fatal attack was “predictable and could have been avoided. »
In his letter, he highlighted the great void she left in his life and in those of their two children. He was full of praise for the woman who shared his life for 20 years: he spoke of her charisma, her interpersonal skills, her sincere and communicative laughter. Endearing, generous and attentive, described Mr. Sanscartier.
He was then sharp, emphasizing that he was not going to repeat all the “obvious failings” in the treatment and monitoring of people suffering from mental disorders, which were displayed during the public hearings on the death of his wife and that of by Isaac Brouillard Lessard.
“Obviously, the big conclusion of this investigation comes down to two lines: everyone must have been talking to each other, but they weren’t really talking to each other. And everyone had to act, but in reality no one really acted. »
On March 27, 2023, Sûreté du Québec (SQ) sergeant Maureen Breau went with three colleagues to a rooming house in Louiseville, in Mauricie, to arrest Isaac Brouillard Lessard, who had just making death threats against his uncle. The first police officer who entered Isaac’s one-room apartment believed he had established contact with him during a previous intervention. When he explained that he was coming to arrest him, Isaac screamed and suddenly grabbed a knife, seriously injuring him in the head. Maureen Breau then rushed to his aid, but she received stab wounds to the neck, head and neck, which proved fatal. The man was shot dead by the two other police officers present.
The dreaded call
Maureen’s father, Michel Breau, recounted the evening of March 27, 2023, when the phone “ringed at 8:50 a.m.”.
It was her daughter’s partner, who told her to go to the hospital.
” I started to cry. I immediately thought the worst,” said the man, sober and dignified. He explained how he entered with his wife “through a back door” after he was refused access.
Then, a nurse told her those words so dreaded by parents: she said “that it was over for Maureen. »
Since then, this father has been asking questions about the police intervention.
Maureen had more than 20 years of experience, he said. He doesn’t want to blame anyone, but says he’s convinced she didn’t know Isaac had a knife. “They didn’t inform her” before she rushed to the rescue of her young police partner.
“Like a good mother, she went to take care of her little guy and it cost her her life. »
After her testimony, coroner Géhane Kamel left the front of the room from where she listened to the witnesses to take the man in her arms for a long time.