The family of the young man who died following a scuffle with guards while he was illegally detained in Bordeaux prison on Christmas Eve is calling for an investigation.
Nicous D’André Spring, 21, died the day after he should have been released from detention at the Montreal prison. Correctional officers had put a spit mask on him and he had been sprayed with pepper spray twice.
The Red Coalition, a non-profit organization that supports Mr. Spring’s loved ones, said it would file a complaint with the Québec Ombudsman on behalf of the family. The organization would ask this office to open an investigation into systemic racism in the prison system.
Mr Spring’s sister Sarafina Dennie believes her brother needed mental health support but was treated by prison guards as a ‘rabid animal’.
Ms Dennie explains that she has pledged to fight for justice for her brother and to ensure that what happened to him does not happen to anyone else.
The Quebec Ministry of Public Security has already called Mr. Spring’s detention “illegal” because the young man had obtained his release from a judge on December 23. But he was still the next day at the Montreal Detention Facility, also called “Bordeaux Prison”, when he suffered injuries leading to his death.
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