Protesters demand guards involved in man's death in Montreal jail be charged
Nequette Spring says she moved to Montreal for a better life for her family. She never expected she would lose her 21-year-old son.
"I have to bury my son," she said. "I need justice for my son."
Protesters marched in downtown Montreal Friday to demand justice and answers.
Nicous D'Andre Spring was arrested by Montreal police on Dec. 20 and detained at Montreal's Bordeaux jail.
After a physical altercation at the jail on Dec. 24, guards placed a spit hood over his head and pepper-sprayed him three times. He died of his injuries the same day.
Quebec's Public Security Ministry has said Spring was illegally detained at the time of the altercation as he was supposed to have been released on Dec. 23 following a bail hearing. For an as yet unknown reason, he was still behind bars the next day when he suffered injuries leading to his death.
Family, friends and protesters are calling for the footage of the altercation at the jail to be released and for an end to the use of spit hoods.
They also demanded the officers involved in Spring's death be formally charged with murder.
"A young Black man lost his life due to a murder, that's exactly what it is, and it has to be accounted for," said Jordan Cassanova, who knew Spring since he was a teenager.
"Too many times these things happen and we see no justice and that's what we're here for right now [...] We want the person who did the murder to receive their due, a conviction or whatever the case may be. I just don't have words."
Charlene Hunte also lost her son when he was shot and killed by police at 22 years old. To this day, she says there hasn't been any follow up, and she stands in solidarity with Spring's family.
"A lot of us Black mothers have no voices for us, we lose our children in ways that we should never lose and we don't have a system to help us or back us up with any kind of grieving or any kind of help," she said.
Spring was 'a big teddy bear'
Spring's community remembers him as a sweet soul who loved music, sports and his family.
Jamal Spence worked with Spring at a community centre and says they grew close. He says Spring was like a younger brother to him.
"He was kind, he was sweet. A big teddy bear, you can say, just a sweet soul with a smile. He was just a blessing to everybody," he said.
Cassanova, who would box with Spring, said most importantly, he wants to make sure people recognize that Spring was a good person.
"Regardless of whatever anyone wants to say, how anybody wants to view him, he was a good kid," he said.
"He didn't deserve what happened to him. Whatever he did, this was definitely not the answer for it."
Public Security Minister François Bonnardel declined CBC's interview request because of the ongoing investigation.
In a statement, Bonnardel said he wants light to be shed on Spring's death, adding that mistakes that were made will be answered for. He wants to ensure his ministry takes the necessary steps to avoid a similar situation in the future, he said.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
