The use of a hood before the death of a 21-year-old man illegally detained in a Montreal jail, and the fact that he was due to be released the day before, have sparked calls for a public inquiry.
Both the union representing prison guards and an organization that advocates for prisoners’ rights say the move to virtual court appearances during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in people being held after a judge has ordered release them
“There are certain problems that we’ve seen in the last two years with the emergence of video appearances,” said Mathieu Lavoie, president of the Syndicat des agents de la paix en services correctionnels au Québec, adding that it’s not something that happens often.
Release orders are sent by fax or email, he said, and there are communication problems between the Ministry of Justice, the courts and the Ministry of Public Security, which runs provincial prisons.
“Our computer systems don’t talk to each other,” Lavoie said in an interview Wednesday.
The detention has been described as “illegal” by the ministry
Quebec’s Ministry of Public Security described Nikus D’Andre Spring’s detention as “illegal” because a judge ordered his release on Dec. 23, but he was still behind bars when he suffered injuries that led to his death the next day.
The ministry said two other people who appeared in court on December 23 were also not released until the following day.
Jean-Claude Bernheim, chair of the board of directors of the John Howard Society in Quebec, also said he believes unlawful detention has become a growing problem as more appearances take place virtually, with the accused remaining in jail .
Guard union president Mathieu Lavoie says he doesn’t know all the details, but the hood was likely still on when the pepper spray was used. (Radio-Canada)
Such occurrences have become much more common during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although there is an appeal for detainees, in theory, for those in prison to even call their attorney is not an easy process, said Bernheim, whose organization advocates for the rights of incarcerated people.
Conflicts inside the unit during the arrest
Lavoie said Spring had conflicts with people in the unit where he was being held and had been moved to another part of the Bordeaux jail when the altercation occurred.
He said guards put a hood over Spring’s face because of the way he spoke: “There was a lot of saliva that was sent to the officers.”
Once they got to the other unit, Lavoie said, officers struggled with Spring and used pepper spray because “he wouldn’t calm down.”
Friends and family of Nickus D’Andre Spring attend a vigil in his memory in Montreal on December 30. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
Lavoie said he doesn’t know all the details, but the hood was likely still on when the pepper spray was used. He said Spring was taken to a decontamination shower, at which point the manager ordered guards to spray Spring again with pepper spray.
He was then taken to an isolation ward. Lavoie said he didn’t know the exact timeline, but medical services were called shortly after and guards tried to resuscitate Spring. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Guards profit from impunity: Bernheim
Bernheim said it’s unclear how often or under what circumstances hoods are used in Quebec prisons, but he believes guards are taking advantage of a culture of impunity.
Montreal lawyer Eric Sutton called what happened to Spring a tragedy, adding that the details of the altercation and its aftermath could constitute a case of criminal negligence.
Quebec provincial police, the coroner’s office and the Ministry of Public Security are investigating Spring’s death.
“I mean, it’s common sense to me that you shouldn’t do that,” Sutton said. “So that alone — whether or not he should have been released — deserves an investigation, and it just adds a layer. It turns it from a tragedy into a multifaceted tragedy.”
Montreal criminal lawyer Charles B. Côté said in 34 years of practice he has had cases where clients were not released immediately despite posting bail, but he called it very rare.
“As far as I know, it’s not something that happens regularly,” Cote said. “But it’s possible with the pandemic etc [justice] staffing issues that this is happening more often.”
What worries Kote about the Spring incident is that two other prisoners are also being illegally detained.
As for the altercation with security, using pepper spray twice and the spit mask before leaving Spring unsupervised was against all rules of engagement under those circumstances, Côté said.
“Definitely a public inquiry, we need to find out where the system failed to release these three inmates on (Dec. 23),” Côté said.
“What exactly happened? There should be safeguards. There should be rules to ensure that this never happens again,” he added.
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