Bikers Including Hell's Angels And A.B.A.T.E . And Families Descend On Ontario Jail Demanding End To Deaths Inside Elgin Middlesex Detention Center Over 1,000 Ppl On saturday.

[Gregory Carr]

Bikers and families descend on Ontario jail demanding end to deaths inside
More than 1,000 people, including about 500 bikers, were at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre on Saturday
Kate Dubinski · CBC News · Posted: Jul 17, 2021 6:19 PM ET | Last Updated: July 17

A woman holds a sign that calls for justice for Brandon "BamBam" Marchant as hundreds of bikers descended on the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre on Saturday after his funeral. (Kate Dubinski/CBC News)
In a show of force that hasn't been seen before at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC), more than 1000 people descended on the London, Ont., jail and demanded justice after the most recent death of an inmate, a 32-year-old father with ties to the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club.

'His life mattered': Family wants justice for inmate allegedly beaten in London, Ont., jail
Approximately 500 bikers, some wearing club jackets from Ontario and Quebec, stood alongside families and friends who have lost a loved one in the jail for about two hours Saturday afternoon. They revved engines, erected crosses and formed an Indigenous healing circle.

"I hope this is the last death and that this will be the change in the jail. Brandon was loved by everyone and this is a show of support for him," said Dar Maynard, steps away from where a cross was placed on the lawn of the jail property for her stepson Brandon Marchant, who died earlier this month.

"We will not give up. This will not be the last rally until there is justice," added Melissa Stokes, Marchant's sister.

Several motorcyclists spun their back wheels while remaining stationary, creating a loud noise, smoke, and markings on the ground outside the provincial jail in London, Ont. (Kate Dubinski/CBC News)
Marchant, who was taken off life support on July 6, is the nineteen person since 2009 to die after being inside EMDC.

He was brought to the jail from hospital on July 2 after a car crash. Inmates have reported seeing guards assaulting Marchant after an alleged dispute over a towel. He was found unresponsive in his cell on July 3.

Raquel Hilliker, a niece of Floyd Deleary, writes her uncles name on a new cross at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre on Saturday, July 17. Deleary died at the jail in 2015. (Kate Dubinski/CBC News)
The union for corrections officers has not responded to requests for comment.

The Ministry of the Solicitor General, the office of the Chief Coroner, and London police are all investigating the death. Minister Sylvia Jones refused a CBC request for an interview regarding allegations about the guards, who remain at work, according to a lawyer familiar with the jail.

On Saturday, after a funeral at St. Peter's Cemetery for Marchant, the bikers rode peacefully through the city to the Exeter Road jail, where the group called answers.

'We're not giving up'
"We need to keep coming out and showing that we're not going to give up. We're going to keep sharing our stories and our loved ones stories, and hopefully it opens the eyes of the people in the jail and of the government," said Emily Kechego, whose uncle, Floyd Deleary, died in the jail in 2015.

A jingle dancer from Chippewa of the Thames First Nation dances as community members sing a prophecy song about moving forward, part of an Indigenous healing circle at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre. (Kate Dubinski/CBC News)
Another niece, Raquel Hilliker, wrote Deleary's name on a wooden cross staked into the ground. Eighteen crosses put up by family members over the course of recent years were removed by jail officials earlier this month, after guards complained they added to their mental distress.

"It's been 12 years that this has been going on. Whatever the reason that people are in there, it doesn't mean that they shouldn't have a chance to come out," said Jeanna Drysdale, whose husband, Randy Drysdale, was killed inside EMDC in 2009.

Jeanna Drysdale's husband Randy was killed at EMDC in 2009. She says she will continue to fight for change at the jail, but she's lost faith that jail officials and governments are listening. (Kate Dubinski/CBC News)
"I wish I had faith that things would change, but I don't have faith anymore. Randy was such a good guy. He didn't deserve this, any of this. He was in here, never been to jail before, there's no reason why he shouldn't have come out."

There was not a large police presence at the funeral or the EMDC ride. London police said they did not believe there was a concern for public safety and did not attend, save for one officer watching at the jail. (Greg: Turns out that was a good move by London Police. https://london.ctvnews.ca/not-surprising-hells-angels-are-alive-and-well-in-london-former-opp-commissioner-1.4834833 The H.A.M.C. has a chapter in London, Ont. various members and ppl associated with it are facing charges for weapons and drugs.)

See more photo from Saturday's gathering at the jail:

About 1,000 people, including 500 bikers, rallied at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre on Saturday. (Kate Dubinski/CBC News)

A woman smudges bikers as they enter the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre grounds on Saturday. (Kate Dubinski/CBC News)

In a show of force, hundreds of bikers, including some who belong to outlaw motorcycle clubs, rode to the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre on Saturday. (Kate Dubinski/CBC News)

A new cross was installed for Brandon Marchant, 32, outside the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre. Marchant is the 19th inmate to die at the jail since 2009. (Kate Dubinski/CBC News)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/bikers-and-families-descend-on-ontario-jail-demanding-end-to-deaths-inside-1.6107096 has lots of pictures.

https://globalnews.ca/news/8037798/emdc-inmate-death-rally/

The Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre also known as EMDC, is a 450-bed maximum security jail located in London, Ontario.[1][2] Concerns have recently been raised about the security of the inmates at the prison[3] as well as prison overcrowding.[4][5][6]

There have been nineteen[7] deaths since 2009: Randy Drysdale (April 2009), Laura Straughan (November 13, 2009),[8] Adam Kargus (October 31, 2013),[9] Keith Patterson (September 29, 2014),[10] Jamie High (December 23, 2014),[11] Floyd Deleary (August 23, 2015),[12] Justin Thompson (October 31, 2016),[13] Raymond George Major (June 6, 2017),[14] Michael Fall (July 30, 2017),[15] Murray Davis (August 17, 2017),[16] Ronald Jenkins (December 9, 2017),[17] Justin Struthers (December 26, 2017),[18] James Pigeau (January 7, 2018),[19] Sean William Tourand-Brightman (March 31, 2019), Chase Blanchard (June 22, 2019),[20] Malcolm Ripley (November 25, 2020),[21] and Tyler Lancha (March 21, 2021).[22][23] Inmates' deaths range from natural causes (pneumonia) to suicide/homicide and drug overdose. Most of the deaths are handled by Kevin Egan, a lawyer and advocate for inmates at EMDC. Egan is also a part of a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of 10,000 inmates for CAD$325 million in damages against the Government of Ontario.[24] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin-Middlesex_Detention_Centre this list of dead is not up to date.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/second-inmate-dies-in-two-days-elgin-middlesex-dention-centre-london-ontario-tyler-lancha-kevin-egan-lawyer-1.5961602

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/his-life-mattered-family-wants-justice-for-inmate-allegedly-beaten-in-london-ont-jail-1.6104333 at the time of his arrest Brandon "BamBam" Marchant was facing 4 charges including having property obtained by crime.

https://london.ctvnews.ca/mobile/emdc-to-get-16-new-correctional-officers-1.2804185#_gus&_gucid=&_gup=twitter&_gsc=0IHSn5F this link is found on the Ontario Prison Guards Union website.https://opseu.org/news/elgin-middlesex-detention-centre-to-get-16-new-correctional-officers/14459/

The Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre has a notorious reputation as a dangerous, overcrowded jail that has seen numerous acts of serious violence, including the death of inmate Adam Kargus, 29, on Oct. 31. 2013. A paragraph from the above url.

https://www.sprung.com/elgin-middlesex-regional-detention-centre/ these guys built an addition to the facility.

https://globalnews.ca/news/5299520/conditions-emdc-ontario-human-rights-commissioner/ The Ontario Hunan Rights Commissioner called the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Center one of the worst in the province saying guards were not trained in de-escalation techniques illegal drugs were fairly easy to get and the place smelled and had mould problems hurting staff and inmates. Two years later and at least 5 more prisoners have died.

https://www.thelawyersdaily.ca/articles/28352 has a lawyers take on it.

https://westerngazette.ca/culture/the-devils-playground-elgin-middlesex-detention-centre/article_7b7e9606-fa3e-11e8-a719-474e1082c7b9.html

EMDC has gained a reputation as one of Canada's most notorious and deadliest jails, so much so that even some correctional officers fear for their lives behind those walls. Habiba Nosheen investigates why so many inmates keep dying inside this institution and why more isn't being done to keep staff and inmates safe. And in a face to face interview with a man who murdered his cellmate, she tries to find out what is going on inside what some people call, the devil's playground.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rih8JI00GHo a Fifth Estate report on deaths at the facility from 2017 includes very interesting video of something that was officially listed as a suicide of a 30 yr old inmate. An interview with a big Native man who killed a fellow prisoner named Adam at the facility.

https://www.lobocsinc.com/project/elgin-middlesex-detention-centre/ the facility has over 350 video cameras covering 100% of the facility so where is the video of the latest deaths.

https://nationalpost.com/tag/elgin-middlesex-detention-centre/ bunch of National Post stories on the facility.

https://groups.google.com/g/tor.general/c/14ulxHEWWHI/m/UwtLibrwAQAJ 6 guards were fired after one inmate killed another and 3 were hired back after the union won a grievance.

Newly released surveillance video taken at the Elgin Middlesex
Detention Centre in London, Ont., shows Anthony George beating his
cellmate Adam Kargus to death and then dragging the body into a common
shower area the next morning, without jail guards ever seeming to
notice.

George, 32, was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of
parole for 10 years on Oct. 7 for the 2013 death of Kargus, 29, who
was choked, punched, kicked and stomped to death. The presiding judge
said that "to suggest the murder was brutal would be an
understatement."

Surprise guilty plea in jailhouse murder trial in London
George was scheduled to be tried by jury, but the case and much of the
evidence collected by homicide investigators never made it to trial
because the Kettle Point First Nation man made a surprise guilty plea
just as his three-week trial was set to begin.

CBC News can now publish the surveillance video for the first time,
after a judge ordered it released to media organizations on Wednesday.

Beating witnessed by other inmates

The video was taken from a security camera mounted on the wall of Unit
6, one of a number of common areas for inmates inside the Elgin
Middlesex Detention Centre on Oct. 25, 2013, and Oct. 31, 2013, the
night Kargus died.

The video shows George physically interacting with Kargus a total of
six times. Kargus appears to be put in a chokehold at least four times
by the jailhouse killer in full view of other inmates.

'I forgive you,' grieving mother tells son's jailhouse killer
On only one occasion are guards seen intervening, at 3:46 p.m. when
George puts Kargus in a chokehold in full view of guards and inmates.

Jail murder video
The security video from the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre shows
inmate Anthony George place his cellmate Adam Kargus in a chokehold at
least four times, often in full view of other inmates. The video shows
guards only intervened once. (Ontario Superior Court of Justice)

George admitted during his sentencing hearing that he was drunk when
he killed Kargus, after he consumed a toilet bowl full of jailhouse
brew, an improvised alcoholic concoction created by mashing and
fermenting fruit.

Nurse suspected intoxication

The court heard that a nurse on duty at the jail on the night Kargus
was killed was concerned that George was intoxicated because he seemed
happy and louder than usual.

She reported her concerns to the guards, who decided that they would
deal with it in the morning because of a staffing shortage and locked
George inside a cell with Kargus.

What the jury didn't hear: Aboriginal jury representation disputed in
Anthony George case
George also admitted to the court that he had smoked a cigarette laced
with phencyclidine, or PCP, an illegal drug widely considered
dangerous because of its tendency to cause hostility, violence and
psychosis in some users.

Questions remain as to why the two men were locked in a cell together
at the jail.

George known for violence

George is a repeat violent offender with anger issues and an alcohol
abuse problem, which had been identified by the court system as his
trigger to commit crimes.

Kargus, by contrast, was a drug addict, who had been arrested for
fraud and was sent to jail after he was denied bail once the court
learned he was still using drugs.

Once the two men are locked inside a cell together, George can be seen
through the window, punching, kicking, stomping and choking Kargus
while the inmate's face is pressed against the glass.

During the beating, the other inmates can be seen banging on the glass
of their own cells, some of whom the court heard were cheering George
on, while others were trying to alert the guards.

No guards responded

Throughout the beating, which the surveillance video shows lasted
about an hour, no guards responded, even though it was caught on a
closed circuit camera.

The next morning, George can be seen on the video leaving his cell,
enlisting the help of other inmates to clean up the blood, wrap
Kargus's body in a bedsheet and drag it to the jail's shower area.

Two other inmates were charged in the case, but the charges were
eventually dropped against one of the suspects, while the other
pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

Guards finally discover Kargus's body at around 10 a.m. on Nov.1 and
called paramedics, but by then Kargus was already dead.

A post-mortem ruled Kargus's cause of death was blunt force trauma to
the head, neck and face. His face was so badly beaten, the court
heard, that Kargus had to be identified by his tattoos.

Six staff were fired after Kargus's death for failing to do their
jobs.

However, three of the guards got their jobs back in April 2017 after
an Ontario grievance settlement board found that the actions of the
guards had "gone on for years, if not decades, and they were open and
obvious." (Greg: Totally bogus and lame.)

Since Kargus's death the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre has been
embroiled in lawsuits over allegations that inmates' rights are
routinely violated.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/london-ontario-jail-murder-video-1.4350212