Doctors testify at Quebec coroner's inquest into police shooting of Lac-Brome teen

A neuropsychiatrist who saw a Quebec teen just months before he was killed by police in July 2018 told a coroner's inquiry Thursday he'd diagnosed him as suffering from symptoms related to traumatic brain injury.

The inquest is looking into the death of Riley Fairholm, a 17-year-old who was killed by Quebec provincial police after they encountered him in distress and waving an air pistol early on July 25, 2018.

The entire interaction in the parking lot of an abandoned restaurant in Lac-Brome, Que., lasted just over a minute, with a veteran Sûreté du Québec police officer repeatedly telling to Fairholm to drop his weapon before one of the six officers who responded fired, striking the teen in the head.

Police have told the inquest he was yelling incoherently and pacing while waving the weapon but did not appear to point it at any officer in particular.

Fairholm had left a suicide note and texted his mother in the minutes before he was shot. He had called 911 on himself and provided police with an accurate description of what he was wearing and that he had a weapon.

The responding officers, however, were unaware that the person in front of them was the one who had called 911 and that the weapon he held was an air pistol.

The shooting was investigated by Quebec's independent police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), after which the Crown decided not to lay charges.

Fairholm's family have said the police were too quick to shoot and they have accused the BEI of lacking transparency.

Several doctors testified Thursday before coroner Géhane Kamel, including neuropsychiatrist Dr. Sylvain Boucher, who assessed Fairholm in February 2018 and recommended treatment for post-concussion syndrome. He identified at least two incidents of traumatic brain injury in Fairholm's youth, including a skiing accident at age 12.

Boucher told the inquiry Fairholm suffered from symptoms consistent with post-concussion syndrome, including light and noise sensitivity and slowed thought processes.

He said that could explain the teen's problems with focus at school and cyclical depression. "Head trauma can bring symptoms of anxiety, inattention, depression, behavioural issues,'' Boucher said.

But he said he did not have reason to believe that Fairholm was suicidal. If there were concerns, he would have reported them, Boucher said.

Boucher had recommended that Fairholm undergo neurofeedback therapy to enhance brain function, a popular therapy used by professional athletes. But Fairholm suffered a rugby-related concussion in May 2018 and the therapy was never administered.

After Boucher's diagnosis, Fairholm's family doctor prescribed an antidepressant, Wellbutrin, in April 2018. The doctor, Normand Chagnon, said he never noted outward signs of depression in Fairholm.