Thousands of police officers and first responders from across North America took part in a sombre procession and funeral Thursday for Quebec provincial police Sgt. Maureen Breau, who was killed in the line of duty last month.
The slain Sûreté du Québec police officer’s casket, which was draped in a Quebec flag, was brought in slowly by her colleagues at the Sanctuaire Notre-Dame-du-Cap church. Her police cap was placed on top of the casket.
Line after line of uniformed police officers marched under sunny skies alongside a black hearse carrying Breau through the streets of Trois-Rivières, Que. An estimated 4,000 people were part of the procession — and many watched the funeral on a screen outside, since the church was at capacity.
Breau, who was a 20-year veteran of the force, was fatally stabbed during an attempted arrest on March 27 in Louiseville, Que., about 100 kilometres north of Montreal. She was 42. Her death sent shockwaves through the province and prompted an outpouring of tributes in the weeks that followed.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Breau’s partner Daniel, her two children and other close family were invited to lay bouquets of flowers at the front of the church while a singer performed Lady Gaga’s Always Remember Us This Way.
The president of the province’s police association spoke before the packed pews, describing Breau’s death as an “unspeakable tragedy.” The veteran police officer left an “indelible mark” on the community.
“You’re our hero,” Jacques Painchaud of the Association des policières et policiers provinciaux du Québec said. “We will never forget you.”
Quebec provincial police Sgt. Véronique Nadeau was choked up while speaking about her best friend, saying Breau the sister she never had. The seven years they spent working together were the best of her career.
She described Breau as a woman who brought people together and as a devoted mother who loved her son and daughter.
“Her locker was filled with your photos, filled with love,” Nadeau said, her voice breaking as she addressed the two children.
Quebec Deputy Premier Geneviève Guilbault, who previously served as the province’s public security minister, spoke highly of Breau. She said the veteran police officer made the choice to be there for her fellow citizens and devoted her life to serving them.
“She was an exceptional woman,” Guilbault said.
Before the procession, Quebec provincial police Sgt. Marc Tessier said in an interview that the funeral marks a difficult and sad day, but that it’s important to be there.
“It’s important for the police community to show our support for the family and say ‘We’re with you,'” he said.
The man accused in Breau’s death was shot dead by provincial police. Isaac Brouillard Lessard, 35, had been found not criminally responsible by the courts at least five times for past offences.
Breau is the first Quebec provincial police officer to die on duty since 2016.
— with files from Global’s Brayden Jagger Haines and The Canadian Press
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