‘We’re broken’: Family looks for answers after man dies in custody at Etobicoke detention centre

The family of Anthony Chatzimanolakis is searching for answers after the 30-year-old died while in custody at the South Toronto Detention Centre in Etobicoke in late March.

An overdose is being investigated as the likely cause.

“He was just like a crazy, in a good way, a good-hearted person that would take the shirt off his back for anybody, and he had a big heart, and he loved his family a lot,” shared his sister Melissa. “Anytime he walked into a room, he lit up the room. He was the life of the party.”

She tells CityNews her late brother was her best friend and an involved uncle with a keen interest in motorcycles and dirt bikes. Anthony was also recently engaged.

Melissa described their family as small but close-knit.

“We’re devastated. We’re broken. In complete shock.”

Anthony was arrested in mid-September of 2022 on charges including car theft and possessing a loaded gun. His case was still before the courts, and he had not been convicted.

“Your first thought is, how are these substances even getting inside the jails?”

Government says paramedics were called to Etobicoke detention centre last month

Melissa said they expected Anthony to be safe at the detention centre and never missed a visit during his eight months there.

“He said it was kind of rough in [there], but he got along with everybody. So, he told me not to worry. He’s ok. He accepted that he was in there,” she explained.

While in custody, an incision from surgery following a serious car crash in 2019 had started to fail. A corrective surgery was scheduled at Sunnybrook Hospital but was cancelled soon after and not rescheduled.

“That bothers me too because every time I would see my brother, he complained about how much pain he was in,” said Melissa.

In a written statement to CityNews, the Ministry of the Solicitor General said, “The ministry can confirm that paramedics were called to the Toronto South Detention Centre on March 25, 2023, after staff found an inmate unresponsive and in medical distress in his cell.”

“The ministry cannot provide further details as a number of investigations are underway.”

Anthony’s lawyer said Canadian law clearly states that prison officials owe a duty of care to inmates.

“What that means is that they must act with reasonable care to protect individuals held in custody from what I think I could best categorize as foreseeable harms. So, when tragedies like this occur, it speaks to, respectfully, a larger systemic issue rooted in poor staffing, among other things,” explained criminal defence lawyer Carmelo Truscello.

“Like many people in pre-trial, he’s presumed innocent,” added Truscello.

Truscello tells CityNews more should be done to make information about deaths in custody public. Something Melissa is asking for as well. In this case, the exact cause of his death remains unclear before the coroner’s report is complete, and The institution is also competing for a separate investigation.

“It’s going to be a waiting game right now. We’re all just waiting for answers, proper answers, because nobody was able to give us straight answers in there,” Melissa added.