A few hours before he attacked Sergeant Maureen Breau in Louiseville in March 2023, Isaac Brouillard Lessard had exchanged text messages with his lawyer Me Yanick Péloquin. Even though he describes this exchange as “intense” and asserts that his client was nervous, it is an exchange that, in his opinion, shows no evidence of drama.
• Also read: Murder of Maureen Breau: End of the first week of hearings
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Addressing coroner Géhane Kamel at the public inquiry into the police officer's death on Monday, the lawyer said his client was concerned about his upcoming hearing before the Mental Disorders Review Commission. He admits that he was afraid of having to return to the hospital and that he was afraid of the police, but maintains that he has no hatred towards them.
“My client was not angry with the police,” assured Mr. Péloquin.
The lawyer remembers advising Isaac Brouillard Lessard in the days before the tragedy to call him if the police ever showed up at his house so he could help him. He still regrets today that he didn't do it.
For a week, coroner Géhane Kamel has been trying to find out who has to enforce the requirements imposed by the Commission of Inquiry into Mental Disorders. She asked the question to all the psychiatrists and speakers who paraded before her, and no one really seemed to know the answer.
On Monday afternoon, the Director of Criminal Justice and Corrections was the first to give an answer. According to him, there is a mechanism in the Mental Disorders Review Commission guide. This mechanism, which is the responsibility of treatment teams, is little known but can go so far as to allow arrest without a warrant.
Earlier in the day, psychiatrist Frédéric Millaud, who treated Isaac Brouillard Lessard at the Pinel Institute for almost 19 months, spoke about the condition in which he was when he arrived at his department. According to his analysis, he was psychotic, suspicious, uncooperative, threatening and in a state of great disorganization.
When he was discharged in December 2019, he was calm, cooperative and taking his medications. Dr. Millaud knew then that his biggest risk factor for relapse would be his drug use, primarily cannabis. However, we now know that he quickly began consuming again once he arrived as an interim resource.