A neuropsychiatrist who saw young Riley Fairholm just months before he was killed by police in July 2018 told the coroner’s inquest on Thursday that he had diagnosed him with symptoms related to a traumatic brain injury.
The investigation is about the death of the 17-year-old, who was killed by the Sûreté du Québec while in distress and waving an air pistol in early July 25, 2018.
The entire interaction in the parking lot of an abandoned restaurant in Lac-Brome, Estrie, lasted just over a minute, during which a veteran police officer repeatedly told Riley Fairholm to drop his gun before firing. one of the six policemen present, who hit the young man in the head.
Police told the inquest he was shouting inconsistently and in a hurry while waving the gun, but it does not appear to have pointed it at any particular officer.
Riley Fairholm left a suicide note and texted her mother minutes before she was shot. He himself called 911 and gave police an accurate description of what he was carrying and that he had a weapon. However, the responding officers were unaware that the one in front of them called 911 and was holding an air gun.
The shooting was investigated by the Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI), then the Criminal and Penal Prosecution Branch decided not to file a case.
Riley Fairholm’s family argued that the police fired too quickly and they blamed the EIB lack of transparency.
Testimonials from health experts
Several health experts testified Thursday in front of coroner Géhane Kamel, including neuropsychiatrist Dr. Sylvain Boucher, who examined Riley Fairholm in February 2018 and recommended treatment for post-concussion syndrome. He has identified at least two incidents of head trauma in Riley Fairholm’s youth, including a skiing accident at age 12.
Mr Boucher said in the investigation that the teenager had experienced symptoms consistent with post-concussion syndrome, including sensitivity to light and sound and slow thought processes. He said it could explain the teenager’s problems with school -focused and cyclical depression. Head trauma can lead to symptoms of anxiety, inattention, depression and behavioral problems, Boucher says.
But he said he had no reason to believe Riley Fairholm was suicidal. If there were any concerns, he said them, he said.
Mr. Boucher recommends that the young man follow a therapy of neurofeedback to improve brain function, a popular therapy used by professional athletes. But Riley Fairholm suffered a rugby-related concussion in May 2018 and was never given therapy.
After Mr. Boucher’s diagnosis, the teenager’s family doctor prescribed him the antidepressant, Wellbutrin, in April 2018. Doctor Normand Chagnon, said he did not notice any outward signs of depression.
Mood swings, depression and school problems
Mr Chagnon learned of Riley Fairholm’s problems in 2015 when his mother complained of mood swings, depression and school problems. She tried to see a psychiatrist, but determined that she would be examined by a psychologist, Anna Beth Doyle.
Ms Doyle saw him several times in late 2015, but the patient cut off visits. When he last saw Riley Fairholm in November 2015, he had improved, slept regularly and cut out team sports to focus on school. So Mrs. said. Doyle that he no longer insisted on continuing therapy.
He was a charming young man, very cooperative, but not very talkative.she said, adding that she worked with him in a variety of ways to deal with stress when he fell into moments of moderate depression.
She said that in retrospect, she may have been more able to work with the mother. But he stressed that he was only 15 years old, and that he was tied to a teenager’s right to make their own health decisions.
Her family doctor and a psychiatrist will testify this Friday when the hearings resume.
The Canadian Press
Source: Radio-Canada
