Quebec provincial police have arrested a man in connection with the death of Nicous D'Andre Spring. Spring was being illegally detained at B
Quebec provincial police have arrested a man in connection with the death of Nicous D'Andre Spring, 21, who was fatally injured while being illegally detained at Bordeaux jail in 2022.
Sébastien Bossé, 54, was charged with manslaughter at the Montreal courthouse on Thursday. The accused, a Bordeaux jail manager, was released and is expected back in court on Aug. 22.
In an emailed statement, the Public Security Ministry said the accused was a unit head at the time but was relieved of his duties in December 2022.
An unlawfully detained inmate who died after a physical altercation in a Montreal jail on Christmas Eve suffered a heart attack after guards
[...] Michael Arruda, a former Montreal police officer and specialist in crisis interventions, has said he is "very concerned" that guards used a spit hood and pepper spray at the same time. 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.
Eric Sutton, a criminal defence lawyer who's also calling for a public inquiry into the case, said the information presented might not be the whole picture.
"There might be a a very different perspective from other inmates who may have seen how this started and what transpired," he said. "And strangely, we have no suggestion that anyone has been interviewed but the prison staff, and that's not good enough."
Quebec's coroner's office will have to rule on the circumstances surrounding the death. [...]
Calls for public inquiry, release of video
On Jan. 7, the Red Coalition, a Montreal-based anti-racism group, called for a public inquiry on behalf of Spring's family.
At the time of the altercation, Spring was illegally detained. A judge had ordered his release on Dec. 23, but he and two other inmates were still in custody at the detention centre a day later.
Spring, the group said, was also receiving support with mental health issues at the time of his death.
Since the altercation, a manager and a prison guard have been suspended pending the results of several investigations, including from the provincial police (SQ) and the coroner's office.
Alain Babineau, director of racial profiling for the Red Coalition, has called for Spring's death to be examined through the lens of systemic racism.
The group made several other demands, including the release of any relevant detention centre footage to the family, if it exists, a public coroner's inquiry, an independent autopsy and the creation of a citizens' committee to oversee the Quebec correctional system.
The community no longer trusts the institutions, Babineau said at a news conference over the weekend.
According to the Red Coalition, the death of the young Black man is further evidence of systemic racism in Quebec. [...]
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(The article itself contains a description of the alleged events according to prison staff, trigger warning for the violence and death).
