A civil rights group is calling for the release of all video evidence of the scene that led to the death of Nicous d’Andre Spring on December 24 in Bordeaux prison while he was unlawfully detained.
Posted at 11:16 am
At a press conference on Saturday, the Red Coalition also called for the opening of a public inquiry by a coroner, an independent autopsy of the young man’s body and the establishment of a citizens’ committee to review Quebec’s prison system.
“The family has very little information, no matter where, viz [ce qui s’est vraiment passé]but it is reasonable to believe that there is a video, and we demand that it be made public,” stressed the Red Coalition’s director of racial profiling and public safety, Alain Babineau.
There are versions of the people at the scene of the crime, but the family doesn’t believe it, the community doesn’t believe it, and what better way than a video to understand what happened, as during police operations.
Alain Babineau, Director of Racial Profiling and Public Safety at the Red Coalition
According to this former Royal Canadian Mounted Police agent, one of the reasons these requests are being made is because Nicous d’Andre Spring’s family and relatives no longer have confidence in Quebec’s institutions.
“When a community loses trust in their governmental institutions, the communities no longer believe the reports that come from governmental institutions, so it is normal to require independent sources to look into it [là dessus] ‘ Alain Babineau continued.
More broadly, the Red Coalition believes that the death of Nicous d’Andre Spring is further evidence of the systemic racism affecting the state of Quebec.
“A pattern”
Nicous D’Andre Spring died on December 24 after an intervention by correctional officers in Bordeaux prison. He should have been released after a video conference the day before, like two other people in the same situation, and was therefore in unlawful detention during the procedure before his death.
A series of deficiencies in the use of pepper spray had preceded La Presse then learned from various sources.
Since then, a correctional officer and the department head involved in the operation have been suspended. But those suspensions aren’t enough, believes Montreal black community member and John Abbott College professor David Austin.
It cannot be reduced to inexperience. It is a “Pattern” it’s been like this for decades. The suspension of a few people will not solve this problem.
David Austin, Professor at John Abbott College
The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) has launched a criminal investigation and the Ministry of Public Safety has launched an administrative inquiry. The coroner’s office must also investigate the causes and circumstances of the inmate’s death.