Homicide in Lac-Saint-Charles: the police had an order in hand for at least three hours

Kim Lebel’s mother had been asking for police intervention for at least three hours to enforce a prescription for her son when the latter savagely attacked a neighbor in the middle of a psychotic attack triggered by a vehicle which had the misfortune to back into its entrance, to Lac-Saint-Charles.

The public inquiry chaired by coroner Me Géhane Kamel began Monday morning at the Quebec courthouse.

The week of the tragedy, Kim Lebel’s parents were concerned about their son’s mental state. On April 4, 2022, two police officers went to his home, at his request, but concluded that he did not pose a danger at that time and that they did not have the legal authority to intervene.

Two days later, on April 6 at around 12:25 p.m., his mother presented himself at Victoria Police headquarters with an interim custody order for a psychiatric assessment freshly signed by a judge.

The application of this order could not, however, be immediate, because a police officer had to take the mother’s statement and complete various documents, including an analysis of the risk that Kim Lebel could pose, explained Julie Charron, investigator at the Bureau of independent investigations.

This police officer “will try at that time, too, to use a duo of police officers who are dedicated and specialized in mental health interventions. Unfortunately, the patrol he requested will no longer be available so he will have to send everything through the normal channels, that is, via an email box, revealed Ms. Charron.

This patrol had been assigned to another call deemed a priority. It is therefore the lieutenant responsible for the evening shift who is informed that the court order must be applied under his direction.

But when he arrives at his office at 3:45 p.m. and reads the document for his attention “with a post-it which indicates “to be carried out in the evening””, it is unfortunately too late and the first calls are made to 911 for the attack which is underway on Thibodeau Street.

“I am 120% sure that my father’s death could have been avoided,” reacted Simon Côté, the victim’s son, who attended the hearings and did not hide his “anger” at certain information revealed in this interview. first day of investigation.

According to the police investigation, Kim Lebel’s neighbors had already noticed in the morning that he had “disjointed” speech and “thought he was the Hulk”. Around 3:35 p.m., he “lost his temper, became disorganized” after a van backed into his yard, described investigator Serge Lehoux.

According to the version of the thirty-year-old, who was declared not criminally responsible, he was afraid that his dog would be hit. Armed with an “ice pick” picked up from a neighbor, he attacked the GMC van then repeatedly hit another woman’s Kia Sedona.

It was at this moment that Jacques Côté intervened and tried to calm the situation. “Mr. Kim Lebel will, if I may say so, go after Mr. Côté for a few minutes while the latter is on the ground. He will be hit several times with the ice pick,” says Mr. Lehoux.

The assailant, who reportedly suffered from an episode of his schizoaffective disorder, was finally neutralized by his own father who hit him with his vehicle.