Maureen Breau: report blames risk assessment | Louiseville tragedy: the death of Maureen Breau

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The lack of police training and poor risk assessment contributed to the death of police officer Maureen Breau, according to the CNESST. (Archive photo)

• Francis Beaudry (View profile)Francis Beaudry

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The Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) revealed Thursday its investigation report into the circumstances surrounding the death of Maureen Breau, concluding that the lack of police training and the lack of assessment of the dangers of police interventions contributed to the accident.

These conclusions were presented during the eighth day of the hearings of the commission of inquiry into the death on duty of the sergeant in Louiseville on March 27 2023.

Following an investigation which required more than 3000 hours to carry out, the CNESST was able to reconstruct the incident, identify the causes and make recommendations to try to prevent such an event from happening again.

The report made public late Thursday afternoon identifies several causes linked to the preparation of the police officers who went to Isaac Brouillard Lessard for his arrest.

The CNESST concludes in particular that the risk assessment during a planned arrest intervention is deficient, in that it is left to the discretion of the police officers and that it exposes them to intervening against an individual whose level of dangerousness would have required an intervention strategy ensuring them greater safety.

Louiseville tragedy: the death of Maureen Breau

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Louiseville tragedy: the death of Maureen Breau

Consult the complete file

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During the presentation of the report, representatives of the CNESST notably presented an intervention risk assessment form, which classified Isaac Brouillard Lessard as a medium danger, which could have required the intervention of the tactical intervention group.

Among the conclusions of the report, we also note that the planning of the arrest is inadequate, in that several elements of the principles of defense and tactical principles during a police intervention are not respected.

It is also noted in the report that the training of police officers in the use of force is insufficient.

Another conclusion of the report indicates that the employer's supervision of its police officers during the risk assessment and intervention planning is inadequate.

The CNESST recommends in its report four corrective measures to be taken from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), the employer of the patrol officers.

The CNESST indicates that the SQ is currently working to implement the requested fixes within the organization in order to meet these requirements.< /p>

• Francis Beaudry (View profile)Francis BeaudryFollow