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The Black Council of Windsor-Essex has joined the family of Colin Grey in calling for police and other authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding how a local man recently died shortly after his release from police custody.
“Without adequate information to the contrary, we are left to presume that racial prejudice and profiling played a role in the discreditable actions of those authorities involved,” Black Council of Windsor-Essex chairwoman Leslie McCurdy wrote in a letter on behalf of the organization, as well as Grey’s spouse Rose and the deceased father’s family.
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Grey, 63, was detained by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers at the Ambassador Bridge on Nov. 29 for suspected impaired driving and then arrested by Windsor police and taken into custody.
The family of Grey — a Type 2 diabetic for the past decade — went public with claims he was refused medical treatment while in custody. His death outside Windsor police headquarters followed shortly after his release, hours after first being pulled over at the international crossing.
“Alongside many members of the local community, we are asking for transparency and accountability regarding Mr. Grey’s tragic and unexpected outcome,” reads the statement by McCurdy.
McCurdy writes that the family and “the community at large have many questions about the treatment or lack thereof that he received” including why the information that he had Type 2 diabetes was “ignored” and why accommodations “as outlined in the Ontario Human Rights Code” were not provided immediately upon the disclosure. The council wonders if race played a part.
The local Black council is also asking whether Grey was informed of his right to seek legal advice, why he was detained for so long (they say for four hours in CBSA and two hours in WPS custody) and why the provincial Special Investigations Unit dismissed the case, “when the gentleman collapsed and died immediately after release from police custody?”
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Windsor police previously confirmed that Grey was arrested and detained by the CBSA at the Ambassador Bridge before being transferred to the downtown police headquarters on the morning of Nov. 29.
Shortly after his release from custody, police said officers found Grey in “medical distress” near the downtown station. Officers attempted life-saving measures until Essex-Windsor EMS took over.
The Ontario chief coroner previously told the Star it was investigating Grey’s death. A full investigation can take about six to nine months if additional tests beyond an initial autopsy are required, officials said.
McCurdy said Grey’s widow Rose and members of The Black Council of Windsor-Essex expect the “appropriate authorities will launch the required investigations immediately.”
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The letter was copied to federal and provincial representatives, municipal councillors, Mayor Drew Dilkens, who also chairs the Windsor Police Services Board, police Chief Jason Bellaire and other police services board members.
“Too often, Black and other racialized citizens are subjected to discrimination and negative stereotyping that endangers our lives,” McCurdy wrote.
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