The family of a young man who died after an altercation with Montreal jail guards is demanding an inquiry into systemic racism in the provincial detention system, a civil rights group said Thursday.
Nicous D’Andre Spring, 21, was illegally detained at Montreal’s Bordeaux jail on Dec. 24 when guards fitted his head with a spit hood and pepper-sprayed him twice. A judge had ordered Spring released from the detention centre the day before.
The Red Coalition, a non-profit lobbying organization assisting Spring’s family, says it intends to file a complaint with the Quebec ombudsman on the family’s behalf. The group will ask the ombudsman to launch an investigation into systemic racism in the provincial jail system, founder Joel DeBellefeuille said in an interview Thursday.
“The family obviously is seeking answers to a lot of questions,” said DeBellefeuillle, whose group lobbies for the end to racial profiling and systemic racism in Canada.
In a statement released Thursday by the Red Coalition, Spring was described as a young aspiring artist, a son, grandson, brother, cousin, nephew, youth mentor and a friend to many. Spring, the group said, was receiving support with mental health issues at the time of his death.
Spring’s sister, Sarafina Dennie, said in the statement that her brother needed support but was treated by jail guards like a “rabid animal.”
“They put a spit mask on him and a supervisor ordered agents to pepper-spray him while he was still wearing the mask,” she said. “Correction officers are supposed to be trained to deal with inmates with special needs.”
A spit hood is a restraining device used to prevent someone from spitting or biting.
Dennie said she’s committed to fighting for justice for her brother and to ensure that what happened to him doesn’t occur to someone else.
Spring was arrested by Montreal police on Dec. 20 and transferred on Dec. 24 to hospital, where he died. He appeared in court on Dec. 23 on charges of assaulting a peace officer, criminal harassment and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose. He was also facing two counts of failing to comply with a condition of release. He had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Quebec’s Public Security Department has described Spring’s detention as “illegal” because he was ordered by a judge to be released on Dec. 23 but was still behind bars the next day when he suffered injuries leading to his death. The department has said two other people who were also ordered released on Dec. 23 were not liberated until the following day.
In an interview earlier this week, Mathieu Lavoie, president of the union representing guards at the Montreal jail, said his members put a spit hood over Spring’s face because the way the inmate was speaking resulted in saliva being directed toward guards. The guards used pepper spray on Spring because he allegedly did not calm down, Lavoie said.
The union head said Spring had gotten into conflict with people in a jail unit and was being transferred to another part of the detention centre when the altercation with guards occurred.
Lavoie said it is likely the hood was still on when guards pepper-sprayed Spring. The 21-year-old was then taken for a decontamination shower when he was sprayed again and moved to an isolation cell. Not long after, medical services were called, and guards tried to resuscitate Spring, Lavoie said.
Since Spring’s death, a manager and a prison guard have been suspended pending the results of several investigations, including from the provincial police and the coroner’s office.
Jake Lamotta Granato, a spokesman for the coroner’s office, said Thursday that coroner Julie-Kim Godin has been assigned the case, adding that she will write a report and can also issue recommendations. But it can’t be ruled out that chief coroner Pascale Descary will order a public inquiry, Granato said.
Michael Arruda, a former Montreal police officer and specialist in crisis interventions, said he is “very concerned” that guards used a spit hood and pepper spray at the same time. A spit hood, Arruda said, is a restraint tool. Pepper spray, he added, is used to neutralize someone temporarily. The spray creates a burning feeling, but if it enters the mouth, it can create a choking sensation, he said.
“I’m very concerned because there are two different tools for two different intervention strategies that are not supposed to be used together,” Arruda said in a recent interview, adding that he would need to see a fuller explanation of what happened. “But I think at this point with the information that we have, I’m concerned.”
DeBellefeuille said Spring’s family feels left in the dark. “We have to get answers from somewhere and we don’t think we’re going to get it from direct supervisors at the prison; so, the ombudsman is where we feel that we’ll be able to get some proper answers for the family,” he said.
“Something happened to their son, their nephew, their grandson, their brother, and they have no answers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 5, 2023.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
