Nicous D’Andre Spring was supposed to be home on Christmas Day.
“They took my little brother. They took my mother’s only son,” whispers Sarafina Spring in a quavering voice.
On December 24, his brother died after an intervention by correctional officers at Bordeaux prison, where he was illegally detained. Pending his trial, he should have been released on December 23.
Family, friends, neighbors: more than a hundred people observed a vigil in memory of Nicous D’Andre Spring, Friday evening, at Benny Park, in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce district.
In the center of the compact crowd, Sarafina Spring is unable to hold back her sobs. His pain is sharp. His anger too.
A few days earlier, her brother visited her at home. “He told us he would come back to give his niece her Christmas present. »
But he never came back.
Nicous D’Andre Spring died on Christmas Eve following a physical intervention by correctional officers at Bordeaux prison. A series of lapses in the use of pepper spray would have preceded his death.
” It hurts. So bad. My heart is broken. I don’t sleep, I don’t eat, I don’t think,” says Sarafina Spring.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Candlelight vigil in Benny Park, Friday evening
“Nicous was the definition of a gentle giant. He spoke softly. He wasn’t an aggressive person. He was smiling all the time,” says his longtime friend Brandon Ragain.
The candlelight illuminates his gloomy countenance. He is holding a colorful sign on which it is written “We love you YK Lyrical”. It was his stage name. An aspiring rapper, Spring was “chasing after his dreams,” says Brandon. The two friends started making music during the pandemic to beat boredom.
“He was a young man who had a lot of life, a lot of talent,” describes Brandon.
“Justice for Nicous”
The bereaved community is demanding justice for the death of Nicous D’Andre Spring.
“How can you take someone’s life like that?” The life of this young boy was taken away from him”, denounces his uncle, George Spring.
When he heard the tragic news, his legs gave out. ” I miss him a lot. He was an adorable boy, ”he breathes.
For Brandon Ragain, what happened to his friend is a “disgrace”.
“It was supposed to come out on December 23. They kept it illegally. We all knew the system was flawed. But when it hits close to home, it’s different. We will fight for Nicous. We are not going to let his name die,” the young man swears.
Anyone could have been in his place. “It can happen to any of us,” he says.