Several experts wonder why Isaac Brouillard-Lessard was allowed to live alone in an apartment on St-Laurent Avenue in Louiseville. He was classified as a “significant risk to public safety,” according to a decision by the Mental Disorder Review Board last year.
The 35-year-old man has also been found not guilty by the court at least five times for violent crimes he has committed since 2014.
“Last year there was another relapse. He pleaded guilty in 2022 to assaulting a janitor. I think those were red flags strong enough to tell ourselves, “What should we do to address this violence?” said Josee Rioux, president of the Quebec Criminologists Association.
“I know there is a team of interventionists who were there last time. Of course there is a framework, because that’s what it says in the decision. Yes, probation in extremis in this case, but very well monitored. For what? Because there is no place in an institution? Because, because… It’s incomprehensible. It was a bomb,” said retired judge Nicole Gibault.
According to the commission, he suffered from schizoaffective disorder, one disorder related to the use of amphetamines in remission and another related to the use of cannabis.
“It’s a disorder that resembles schizophrenia. That is, the person has delusions or hallucinations, disorganized speech or behavior, but there is also an emotional component. He’s either on the side of depression or on the side of mania. People with mental disorders, even severe disorders, and who unfortunately have dramatic episodes of violence are very rare,” explained the President of the Order of Psychologists of Quebec, Dr. Christine Grou.
The lack of mental health resources and services makes regular follow-up for these clients difficult. Clientele who, left to their own devices, run the risk of getting into a problematic situation.