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The man who died after he was found unresponsive in his cell at London’s troubled provincial jail faced previous trauma and abuse in the justice system, but never stopped trying to improve his life, his friends say.
Friends have identified the man found unresponsive at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre on Thursday as Matthew Bouvier, 33, who was originally from Seaforth, southeast of Goderich.
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Chad Anderson, a friend of Bouvier’s since childhood, said he and others closest to Bouvier are unsure of the reason he was taken into custody and put in EMDC and do not yet know what caused his death.
“Matthew’s journey is one of endurance and resilience in the face of trauma, systemic neglect, and relentless adversity,” Anderson wrote in an exchange with The Free Press Sunday.
“Matthew deserves better, and so do the thousands of others trapped in Ontario’s failed system.”
Emergency crews were called to the Exeter Road jail at about 7:20 p.m. on Oct. 24, last Thursday, after receiving a 9-1-1 call about an unresponsive male, London police said Friday.
The man was rushed to hospital by paramedics where he was later pronounced dead.
London police and Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General have not yet released the identity of the man who died.
Bouvier became addicted to fentanyl laced with benzodiazepines following a life-threatening jailhouse assault years ago, Anderson said.
The assault by four inmates left Bouvier with permanent physical disabilities and chronic pain, Anderson said. Bouvier’s requests for medical attention were dismissed until several days later when he was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery to stop internal bleeding, Anderson said.
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Facing lasting pain from the assault, and without medical options to address it, Matthew turned to opioids which “quickly spiraled into a serious addiction to fentanyl,” Anderson said.
Bouvier’s attempts to seek addiction treatment with methadone and suboxone were unsuccessful and he remained “tethered to a cycle that he could never break,” Anderson said.
The 33-year-old had made great strides in the last year to get regain control of his life, Anderson said, and found purpose caring for his girlfriend Dayna Stanley and her children.
Bouvier was a loyal friend who cared deeply about his friends and family, Anderson said. He also loved working on cars and he could fix anything you put in front of him, he said.
“In sharing Matthew’s story, we hope to advocate for a world that treats everyone with the dignity and care they deserve, regardless of their past,” Anderson wrote.
Bouvier’s death is the 23rd at the troubled jail since 2009 and the second so far this year.
Bryan Michael Meyers, 35, died in hospital on Feb. 16 after he was found in medical distress at the jail.
The latest death at EMDC comes the same week as an inquest into the deaths of seven others was about to begin. The inquest – a quasi-judicial hearing where a jury makes non-binding recommendations on how to prevent similar deaths – has been adjourned over legal matters.
jbieman@postmedia.com
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