Inmate beaten in Brockville jail suing province
An inmate whose beating in the Brockville jail led a judge to question whether it was time for a public inquiry into Ontario’s jails has filed a half-million-dollar lawsuit against the province.
In a statement of claim filed last month, Francis Jesse Deguire alleged he had offered to sleep on the floor rather than be placed in the cell with the violent offenders who later beat him so severely that he nearly lost one of his eyelids.
The 39-year-old carpenter and father of four had only four days left of his sentence for drunk driving when, he alleges, he was thrown into metal beds, sinks and the floor. He was also repeatedly kicked in the face, back of the head, shoulder and back during the April 29, 2014, assault.
The “prolonged assault” in Dorm 2 occurred just minutes after Deguire was placed in the cell, despite his pleas to correctional officers that they put him in another dorm where he felt safer, according to the statement of claim.
Deguire alleged he had offered to sleep on the floor in the other dorm, as he had done during a previous stay at the jail, but that request was refused by correctional officers, who told him the dorm he wanted to stay in was full.
According to the statement of claim, Deguire described how after he was placed in the cell, his three attackers asked him about where he had come from and how long he’d be there.
When Deguire told them he’d be released in a couple of days and wanted to keep to himself, one of the inmates wrapped his arm around him while another slapped his genitals and told him that they were going to “have fun tonight.” When Deguire nudged them to move away, he was put in a headlock and attacked.
Deguire alleges it wasn’t until a jail employee delivered the meal trays that the assault stopped, even though it was being recorded on video surveillance.
Correctional officers eventually showed up at the cell door, but they didn’t enter. Instead, they asked one of the inmates who assaulted Deguire to bring him to the cell bars so he could be removed, the statement of claim alleged. By this time, the other inmates had moved Deguire to the shower so correctional officers couldn’t see him.
Deguire was taken to the Brockville General Hospital where he received 10 stitches to re-attach his left eyelid. Deguire also suffered a laceration above his left eye. X-rays were also taken.
When Deguire was returned to the jail about five hours later, he was placed in the dorm that he had originally requested. He was released from custody 72 hours later.
Criminal charges were laid against the three men who attacked Deguire.
The statement of claim alleges all three have since pleaded guilty.
During the June sentencing hearing for attacker Kevin Cleroux, Ontario Court Judge Peter Wright said the attack “raises serious issues of safety, about the ability of correctional officers to respond, their authority, training, planning and supervision.”
Wright said correctional officers were told someone was being punched out, but they didn’t enter the cell. Instead they were told to “go away” and were not allowed into the dorm, Wright said.
“(The) Crown says you can’t blame the authorities for not going into a cell and being beaten up,” said the judge. “By the same token, surely society — the institutions — have an obligation and a duty to protect inmates.”
In his statement of claim, Deguire alleged that even the Crown prosecutor in the case, Claudette Breault, told him he never should have been placed in the same cell as the three men who attacked him.
Deguire alleges he now suffers head, neck, shoulder and back pain on a daily basis and is seen by specialists for his vision, hearing and brain injuries. He struggles to get enough sleep to work even a halfday, and he feels dizzy when climbing on scaffolding. According to his statement of claim, Deguire can no longer work full-time and has had his hours cut in half, now earning a lower hourly wage.
Deguire alleged the province was negligent and owed him a duty of care while he was incarcerated at the jail. He’s seeking $500,000 in damages in a lawsuit filed by lawyer Paul Champ, who is representing hundreds of current and former inmates of the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre in a proposed class action lawsuit over jail conditions there.
“The defendant has undertaken by legislation to provide for the custody, care and supervision of individuals incarcerated at the Brockville jail,” said his statement of claim.
None of the allegations has been proven, and the ministry has yet to file a statement of defence.
The ministry has declined to comment on the case while it’s before the courts.
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