By Don Lajoie
The lawyer representing the family of a man who died after being taken to hospital from the Windsor Jail will launch legal action against the corrections facility after learning the inmate may have been beaten prior to his collapse.
Andrew Murray said Wednesday he will file official notice against the Ministry of? Community Safety and Correctional Services to advance a claim on behalf of the family of Jonathon Dew, the 26-year-old inmate who died Sept. 21, nine days after being rushed to hospital with a collapsed lung after he was found on the floor of his cell.
The London lawyer said he decided to proceed after receiving an anonymous call from a man claiming to have been incarcerated in the same cell range as Dew. The man said he recalled that Dew was beaten days before his collapse. Dew had been arrested days earlier and taken into custody on a minor probation breach.
?An anonymous tipster who said he was in the jail when it happened said he could hear what was going on,? said Murray. ?He said about four guys jumped (Dew) and pummeled him for maybe three minutes, then dumped him in a shower. He said it was horrific, what he heard.?
?The (tipster?s ) story makes more sense than the official line.? -Lawyer
Murray said the call, which resulted from the tipster reading an account of the prisoner?s death in The Windsor Star, raises questions about the official version of events.? According to a statement issued by the ministry:? ?an inmate became ill at the Windsor jail and was transferred to hospital Sept. 12, and subsequently passed away on Sept. 21, 2012.?
The day of? the incident Windsor police were also called to the jail but the officers concluded there was no crime involved and the investigation was concluded.
What is known is that Dew fell in his cell? and was taken to Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital with a collapsed lung. He then suffered cardiac arrest and slipped into a coma before dying. Although Murray said Dew had been reported sick for days prior to the collapse, his family was not informed of his condition until after he was taken to hospital.
But, said Murray, the tip he received from the informant? ?raises more questions than provides answers.?? He said the alleged beating was ?never hinted at? by officials as a possible cause of Dew?s poor health. He suggested the beating scenario is more plausible than the official explanation that Dew became sick in jail. He said there was no prior indication that Dew was so seriously ill before his arrest.
?The (tipster?s ) story makes more sense than the official line,? he said, adding that if there is evidence of a ?cover up, that would be very troubling.?
Murray said he will be looking for jail records covering everything from the names of other inmates on the range, which guards were on duty during the period in question and the records from the nurse or health officers who may have attended to Dew?s injuries or illness.
?I?ve consulted past prison wardens to find out what documents might be needed,? he said. ?There is a long list of documents.?
He added they include an assessment of Dew?s security risk, health factors and reports on whether Dew was ?problematic? as an inmate.
?The alleged assault would have to be documented in some fashion,? he said. ?This family needs answers .?
A spokesman for the Corrections Ministry said it would be inappropriate to comment on a case that ?could be before the courts in due course.?
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