Province held liable for inmate’s injuries

Jail authorities were negligent to house rival gang members in the same unit and therefore liable for the injuries one of them sustained in a beating, Ontario’s top court ruled Monday.

The ruling upholds a lower court finding that found the guards largely liable for what happened to Jason Walters, who spent months in hospital and was left with permanent brain damage.

Walters was a low-level member of Toronto’s east end Malvern Crew, which was involved in an ongoing turf war with the Galloway Boyz, which had Tyshan Riley as leader or senior member.

“The security risks that Riley posed ought to have been known to all members of the justice system,” the Appeal Court said. “This information should have influenced (the) decision on Walters’ placement.”

Correctional authorities at Toronto’s Don Jail put Walters in Riley’s unit in November 2008 despite knowing their gang affiliations. Walters was soon badly beaten in an attack directed by Riley. The victim sued, claiming the guards had negligently failed to prevent the assault.

At trial, a lower court judge agreed with Walters, who maintained he was only 15 per cent responsible for what happened to him because he could have asked to be placed in segregation for his own protection.

In that ruling in August 2015, Superior Court Justice Arthur Gans found the guards primarily responsible for what happened.

Ontario appealed, arguing Gans made several errors, including his assessment that the guards had been negligent.

The Court of Appeal disagreed with the province. The court also ordered the province to pay Walters $35,000 for his legal costs.