Petition calls for Quebec provincial police officers to team up with social workers on mental crisis calls
A group representing Quebec provincial police officers says members should be accompanied by social workers when responding to calls involving people who are violent and have a history of mental illness.
It's one of the demands contained in a petition from the Association des policières et policiers provinciaux du Québec (APPQ) following the death of Sgt. Maureen Breau in Louiseville, Que. last month.
The 20-year veteran of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) was fatally stabbed while performing an arrest on March 27 after responding to a call for a man who was uttering threats.
Breau and a fellow officer were reading the alleged perpetrator his rights when the man reportedly grabbed a sword and stabbed Breau. Her colleague survived the incident with minor injuries.
Two other officers who arrived at the scene then shot and killed the man.
The incident prompted the APPQ to call for changes, including clear communication so that officers responding to a 911 call dealing with someone who is mentally ill and potentially dangerous are given that information.
APPQ president Jacques Painchaud pointed to other cities where officers are often accompanied by a social worker if the call deals with someone who may be dangerous, but he said the problem is that it's not like that across the whole province.
He said in rural areas, it's especially difficult when a social worker could be hours away.
The association is also asking for stricter protocols to be put in place for offenders who are mentally ill and potentially dangerous when it comes to their release, including better follow-up.
It says the changes are necessary to protect the public.
The association says it's seen a 35 per cent increase in the number of potentially violent calls between 2018 and 2022.
The public will be able to sign the petition after it is tabled at the national assembly later this week.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.