'Hearing that was brutal': Witness speaks out after EMDC inmate dies in custody
A man says he witnessed a violent altercation at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC) last month, the same night police say a man was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.
Wes Simpson was at the EMDC the night of Sept. 12, in the cell next to the person he believes was the victim taken to hospital that night.
“We heard yelling,” Simpson tells CTV News London in an exclusive interview. “Me and the guy underneath me, we both woke up to it and then there was a big bang.”
He says that “bang” sounded like someone being dragged off the top bunk in the next cell over, and slamming to the ground.
From there, he says it sounded like a fight broke out. At one point, he remembers hearing someone shout, “I’m going to gouge your eyes out and make you eat them.”
“Hearing that was brutal,” says Simpson.
It was after the lights had been turned off for the night, he says, and the commotion ended before any guards came to check on the situation. About 15 to 20 minutes later, Simpson says correctional officers came through for a routine check, only to pull what appeared to be a seriously injured man out of the cell.
“His chest was pretty red, and then his eye,” says Simpson. “He was bleeding from his eye.”
When he got a chance to see the cell next to his, Simpson says there was blood everywhere.
Emergency crews were called, performing chest compressions on the man pulled from the cell before taking him away, Simpson adds.
A London Police Services press release says an unresponsive man was taken to hospital the same night this took place, where he was later pronounced dead.
Simpson believes this to be the same person, someone he briefly got to know in the days leading up to the altercation.
“That guy was just too happy to just throw himself out like that,” he says.
Investigators have not released an official cause of death for the man who died in hospital. In the absence of concrete information, Simpson says he wants to get his experience out there to combat any rumours of what might have happened.
“I don’t believe it was a suicide,” he says.
London police tell CTV News London the incident is part of an active investigation, but they are not offering any further details at this time.
The Ministry of Justice also initiates an investigation whenever an inmate dies in custody. A ministry spokesperson tells CTV News London those take place after any police investigations conclude, take six to nine months to complete, and the findings will not be made public.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Record-breaking N.B. lottery winner kept winning ticket on dresser for nearly a year
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.