Man who allegedly killed Quebec police officer had long history of violence, mental health issues
The man who allegedly killed a Quebec provincial police (SQ) officer on Monday had a long history of violence detailed in court documents.
Sgt. Maureen Breau was fatally stabbed while trying to arrest a man accused of uttering threats in Louiseville, near Trois-Rivieres, Que.
Two other officers then shot and killed the man.
The suspect is 35-year-old Isaac Brouillard Lessard, according to a police source who spoke to Noovo Info.
Brouillard Lessard had been charged with several violent crimes dating back ten years, according to court documents.
Last year, he pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to two years probation and 200 hours of community service.
Between 2017 and 2018, he was found not criminally responsible for two assaults and uttering death threats.
In 2013, he was charged with threatening to cause death or harm. He pleaded not guilty and was found not criminally responsible.
Brouillard Lessard's lawyer, Yanick Peloquin, says his client was due to appear in May before Quebec's mental health review board -- Commission d'examen des troubles mentaux du Quebec.
The review board found in March 2022 that Brouillard Lessard posed a "significant risk to public safety" but determined that the risk could be adequately controlled if he would be properly monitored.
That March 2022 decision is one of several issued by the board about Brouillard Lessard since 2014.
Sgt. Maureen Breau, killed during an arrest, had been on the force for 20 years.
HISTORY OF MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS
A former friend of the accused told Noovo Info that Brouillard Lessard spent time at the Philippe-Pinel Institute of Forensic Psychiatry in 2019.
"In his head, he was not sick. The others were crazy, and he was too smart for the others," said Ludovick, a pseudonym for the source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
"He was a guy with an explosive character," said Ludovick, recalling a time when Brouillard Lessard bragged to him about one of the assaults that landed him in court.
Ludovick believes his former friend should not have been released from institutional care.
"For the safety of everyone around, you couldn't let a guy like him go into society and think he was going to fend for himself," said Ludovick, who says he last spoke to Brouillard Lessard in January.
The mayor of Louisville also expressed the same concern on Monday.
"He shouldn't have been here," Yvon Deshaies told reporters. "He should have been in an institution, getting healed. He was sick."
FALLOUT FROM 'APPALLING' KILLING
Montreal police are investigating Breau's death, while Quebec's police watchdog, the BEI, is investigating the police response.
Sgt. Breau was in her early 40s and had two children. She had spent two decades with the police force.
The head of the provincial police union told reporters Tuesday that Breau, a sergeant with more than 20 years experience on the force, was due for a promotion in four days.
Her death drew an outpouring of support from her family and colleagues.
Breau's sister, reached on Facebook, said the family was asking for privacy. "My big sister will always be my hero," she wrote in a message to The Canadian Press.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault called the event "appalling" online. He said he would work with the province's minister responsible for social services to ensure that mental health cases are treated urgently when a person is deemed a risk of violence to themselves or others.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
DEVELOPING Bird flu outbreaks: WHO weighs in on public health risk
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.