A man who fatally shot four people, including a Richmond RCMP officer, was recently granted day parole for medical reasons.
Steven Leclair, now 76, was given a life sentence for committing four first-degree murders more than four decades ago.
In 1980, after being kicked out of a Vancouver bar, Leclair went back and shot and killed two staff members and an elderly patron. He then forced two people at gunpoint to drive him to a Richmond RCMP detachment, where he shot Const. Thomas Agar in the chest.
Before being granted six months of day parole in December, Leclair was living at an institutional hospital where he required 24-hour care. His parole conditions include no contact with the victims’ families and no alcohol consumption. He is also barred from going to police detachments and several areas around the Lower Mainland.
He was previously given permission to meet his wife under her supervision, and he received a warning in 2015 after failing to comply with the conditions of his unescorted temporary absence (UTA).
Leclair’s UTAs were cancelled in 2017 after he was “rude and disrespectful towards a staff member” and “made disparaging comments about (his) victims.” He later acknowledged his behaviour was “inappropriate.”
The Parole Board of Canada noted in its decision that many victim impact statements spoke to “the trauma and ongoing harm and grief” Leclair’s violence caused to the victims’ families.
“Some family members also express fear at the prospect of (Leclair’s) release,” the decision reads.
According to the decision, Leclair grew up with an abusive alcoholic father who apparently threatened to kill him, and Leclair had attempted to kill his father by stabbing him. Leclair began drinking alcohol daily when he was young and got addicted to diet pills, allegedly amphetamines, but he stopped taking the pills after stabbing his father.
He also has a criminal history including convictions for drunk driving and assault as well as a history of spousal assault. Previous assessments indicated he had a “high risk to re-offend against an intimate partner.”
Risk to re-offend mitigated by health conditions
While the board noted the “horrific nature” of Leclair’s offence, its decision was based on Leclair’s risk to re-offend, which is mitigated by his age and health conditions.
In a letter from Leclair to the board in August 2022, he stated it was “likely” his last chance to speak to the board about a conditional release, and said he was “bedridden and can no longer walk.”
He also reminded the board “of its obligations to be sensitive to the needs of aging and infirm inmates.”
Throughout his sentence, Leclair has completed various correctional programs, and, furthermore, he has participated in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and individual therapy sessions. He has also not been involved in any violent incidents during his incarceration and he has been living in a minimum-security setting since June 2011.
A 2020 psychological assessment estimated Leclair was at “moderate to high risk for violence,” noting he was “essentially an untreated perpetrator of domestic violence who continues to struggle with emotional regulation.” But a psychiatrist noted in 2021 that Leclair doesn’t suffer from any “major mental disorder” precluding a conditional release and he was “experiencing cognitive and physical decline.”
The chief of health services at Leclair’s current hospital also submitted a letter saying his behaviour has been “uniformly positive over a substantial term and in spite of less than ideal care conditions.”
The board concluded Leclair would not present “an undue risk to society” if he were to be released on day parole, and his release would help him reintegrate into society as a law-abiding citizen and “contribute to the protection of society.”
