‘How could this happen?’ Father questions safety in Thunder Bay jail where son died

An inquest began Monday into the June 2020 death of Thunder Bay Jail inmate, Kevin Mamakwa, to look at safety procedures & a lack of depression support.

An inquest into the June 2020 death of Kevin Mamakwa raised questions over safety procedures at the Thunder Bay District Jail – and about the lack of access to mental health support programs for those suffering from depression.

Testifying on Monday, the first day of the two-week inquest, Kevin’s father, Jonathon Mamakwa, said his son had been battling depression for some time before he died in jail, but had only been able to arrange one counselling session.

And he wasn’t able to get a follow-up appointment before his death at age 27.

Learned to skate when he was 4

Mamakwa said his son loved hockey since he was two years old and was determined to learn to skate and play in their community of Kingfisher Lake First Nation.

He took Kevin to the outdoor rink in the community at age four, and he played in his first hockey tournament when he was six or seven years old.

When the family moved to Thunder Bay, he began playing minor hockey in the city. He travelled to Toronto for weeklong hockey camps beginning at age 8, eventually bringing more than a dozen of his friends with him.

Mamakwa said his son had a particularly hard slapshot, which earned him the nickname ‘Boom Boom.’

“He had one wicked slapshot for his age,” his father said.

“He made a lot of friends in other communities – friends who admired him, and friends that he admired. Friends that he supported, and friends that supported him.”

When Mamakwa caught his son drinking at age 16 or 17, he told him it wasn’t something he was allowed to do.

‘He wasn’t himself anymore’

He said that he also considered it just something that teenagers do. Kevin was a happy teenager until his final year of junior eligibility, when he played for a team in Toronto.

One night, he was severely beaten up, ending up with a broken nose and other injuries that sent him to the hospital.

He was never the same after that, Mamakwa said, adding he only later found out that Kevin was battling depression.

“He wasn’t himself anymore -- he just withdrew,” his father said.

“He was missing out on practices and games.”

He finally admitted to his father that there was something wrong. But Mamakwa said he had to keep asking his son what was going on several times before he admitted “what he was going through.”

“He was dealing with depression,” his father said.

They pushed him to get treatment and he was eventually able to get a counselling appointment, but couldn’t arrange for a second one because of the lack of services.

‘I know he struggled’

His son became a father of four children himself, but he ended up living apart from the mother of his children – something that he found hard to deal with.

“I know he struggled,” Mamakwa said.

“He would call me and say, ‘I need to see my kids.’”

His father also learned that his son was taking drugs, but at first Kevin insisted that he could quit them whenever he wanted.

Mamakwa called Kevin regularly after that to check up on him. His son was looking after his grandparents at Kingfisher Lake First Nation when he called.

He said he had just returned from a run. Kevin told his father he was feeling down and running or a hard skate helps “me feel better.”

“I didn’t understand that – the relationship between exercise and depression,” Mamakwa said.

After his son’s death, he learned from others that he had helped other people who were also dealing with depression.

“I’ll keep pushing. You do the same,” he would tell them.

His drug problems eventually led to problems with the law. He was arrested in December 2019 and was released with conditions.

During COVID-19 pandemic

He was picked up again in January and again May 31, 2020,, Kevin was housed in the Thunder Bay jail in isolation with one other inmate because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A guard checked the cell around midnight; at 12:05 a.m. June 2, his cellmate alerted staff that something was wrong.

Jail staff entered to find that Kevin had hung himself from the cell door using a bed sheet. He was pronounced dead at 12:24 a.m.

Jonathon Mamakwa said in the days before Kevin’s death, his son would call him from jail, sometimes multiple times a day,

“Just to let (me) know what was going on,” Mamakwa said.

“I was worried about his mental health, and also his treatment ... He was anxious to get out. He wanted to get out ... He was getting more desperate, was my sense, the last time I talked to him.”

His father encouraged Kevin to access mental health supports while in jail. He also called the jail to “express my concern about his mental health, given the depression he was dealing with” and to push for him to receive treatment.

But he received no response. The night his son died, two Thunder Bay police detectives knocked on Mamakwa’s door well after midnight.

“Someone came knocking, which I thought was weird,” he said.

“They asked me who I was – and could they come inside. That’s when they told me Kevin had passed in jail. All they said was they found him hanging in his cell.”

Mamakwa woke his sleeping wife to give her the news. After she had calmed down, he said he needed to let the rest of the family know, but didn’t want to leave his wife alone.

“I needed to do that – for myself and for our family,” he said.

The two detectives offered to stay with his wife while he was out. Mamakwa also called Kevin’s girlfriend’s parents to let everyone know what happened.

Praise for police

“That’s what I needed to do as a father,” he said, wiping away tears. “Make sure everyone was OK.”

His wife was devastated, Mamakwa added.

“She absolutely adored him -- always called him her angel and spoiled him,” he said.

“And he absolutely adored his mom. He was very protective.”

He also praised the two Thunder Bay police detectives. Not only did they stay with his wife that night, but they also contacted him regularly in the days and weeks that followed to keep him informed, answer any questions and to ask them how they were doing.

“They were good to me -- the detectives were good to me,” Mamakwa said.

“They were quite helpful ... It felt good that they were always there. If I had questions, they would try to help us as best they could. As a grieving parent, I needed to know things.”

In the first few years after the tragedy, Mamakwa admitted he was angry that his son died in a place where he was supposed to be under careful watch.

“I always wondered how this could have happened in what was supposed to be a safe environment,” he said.

“I just couldn’t understand. How did that slip?”

“I’m far from angry -- I’m past that,” he added.

‘I’m not angry anymore’

“I was for a couple of years. I’m not angry anymore. What I want are solutions.”

In particular, he said the system needs more resources -- especially Indigenous-specific services from workers “who understand First Nations.”

“I deal with that all the time,” Mamakwa said.

“It takes someone from our area to help them navigate.”

He said he wants workers actively looking to help people with mental health challenges, instead of “waiting for the phone to ring.”

“I’m hoping there will be changes in the corrections system,” he said.

“I’m hoping there will be changes – supports that understand our people.”

Dr. Michael Wilson is the presiding coroner for the inquest, which will examine the circumstances surrounding Mamakwa’s death. The jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing further deaths.

The inquest is expected to last nine days and hear from about 15 witnesses.

“We hope this inquest will answer some questions about what happened,” Wilson said in his opening remarks.

He said mandatory inquests are called to ensure the circumstances of a particular death are known, and steps are taken to prevent future tragedies.

Inquest counsel Robert Kozak said the tragedy “deeply affected a family – and a community.”

Kozak said there would be an “open, respectful and transparent” process. He said inquests are not about laying blame – they are about learning from the past and implementing change to make a safer system.

The inquest resumes Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.