An inmate who took another prisoner hostage led to a strong intervention on Wednesday at the Rivière-des-Prairies detention facility. Known for his “violent past”, Steven Godin Charlish had already kidnapped a correctional officer for long hours, in Sept-Îles, in 2016.
The case occurred around 2:30 p.m., in the middle of the afternoon. Angry because adulterated alcohol had been seized from him that had entered the walls, Godin Charlish would then have locked himself in his cell, taking hostage the other inmate who was there, Shawn Lefebvre, learned La Presse. According to our information, he also attacked him physically.
Emergency teams and police personnel were called to the scene, but the man finally surrendered after an hour.
In 2016, at the Sept-Îles detention facility, Steven Godin Charlish admitted having threatened with his accomplice Dany Bernatchez a correctional officer, before confining her for three hours. He had also pleaded guilty a few months later to counts of conspiracy, assault with injury and breaking prison with the intention of recovering his freedom.
For Mathieu Lavoie, who is president of the Syndicat des agents de la paix en services correctionnels du Québec, the main person concerned is a “problematic inmate, known for his violent past”.
He regrets that the authorities often do too little to ensure the safety of officers. “It’s a reality that we see more and more in corrections, where a lot of largesse is given to incarcerated people despite their violent past,” concludes Mr. Lavoie.
In April 2021, a hundred correctional officers demonstrated in front of the Bordeaux prison in Montreal to denounce the “lack of judgment” of management. This no longer “protects” employees when physical attacks by inmates occur, several employees, supported by the union, said at the time. “Assaults, there are several. We have been living with this problem on a recurring basis for several years, ”confirms Mr. Lavoie.
