A woman who died of a drug overdose in an RCMP jail cell had asked officers twice if she could be taken to hospital, a report from B.C.’s police watchdog says.
The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) report says Burnaby RCMP responded to a call on March 6 that a woman who appeared to be intoxicated was bothering people in a restaurant. Officers arrested the woman, who is not named in the report, and took her to police cells.
She was released the next morning, about 12 hours after her arrest. But about half an hour later, police received reports the woman was asking students for drugs at a local high school.
She was again arrested and taken to RCMP cells, where she died about seven hours later, according to the report.
The IIO says RCMP did not commit any offence in this case but acknowledged that looking after intoxicated people is a health care issue that “should not fall solely to police.”
Woman said she was ‘dope sick’
The woman was never charged with a criminal offence but was held in custody “because she was intoxicated and unable to care for herself,” according to the report.
When she was transported to the cells for a second time, she “begged” an officer to take her home instead. When he refused, she asked to be taken to hospital instead but her request was again denied, the report said.
The officer believed the woman did not require medical assistance “and only wanted to go to the hospital to avoid going to jail,” the report said.
The officer did not inform the jail supervisor about his conversation with the woman, according to the report.
The woman was removed from her cells nearly four hours after she was apprehended for an interview. The officer noticed there was feces on the floor of her cell, the report said.
The woman once again asked to be taken to hospital. The officer asked if she was “dope sick,” slang for opiate withdrawal symptoms.
She said yes.
Her request again wasn’t communicated to the jail supervisor, according to the report.
Checks every 15 minutes
A guard checked on the woman three times from 3:31 p.m. to 4 p.m. and reported she was breathing each time, according to the report.
RCMP policy requires prisoners are checked on at least every 15 minutes, the report said.
The guard’s checkups lasted about three, 11 and 10 seconds, respectively, according to the report.
He couldn’t get a response from the woman at 4:15 p.m. when he kicked the door of her cell, the report said.
She was pronounced dead later that hour. An autopsy determined drug toxicity to be the cause of death, according to the report.
“With the benefit of knowledge and hindsight, one wonders whether the checks could have been more fulsome,” wrote IIO’s interim chief civilian director Sandra Hentzen in the report.
She added that the RCMP officer wasn’t able to recognize that the woman was experiencing a reaction to drug toxicity and not withdrawal symptoms.
‘Not trained medical personnel’
Hentzen questions whether this information would have resulted in more careful monitoring of the woman or whether medical treatment would have been provided.
“This case continues to raise concerns about how intoxicated prisoners are housed generally in British Columbia,” Hentzen said.
“Officers and jail guards are not trained medical personnel, and jail cells are not the best place for such prisoners,” adding that sobering centres and having health professionals on site are alternative solutions.
The IIO said it won’t refer this case to Crown counsel for consideration of charges, but the results of the investigation have been forwarded to the RCMP’s Civilian Complaints Commission.
In a statement to CBC News, RCMP said it’s limited in what it can say as the incident may still be subject to a coroner’s inquest.
“However, we would like to express condolences and acknowledge the ongoing impact this tragic death continues to have, including on her loved ones,” spokesperson Staff Sgt. Kris Clark said.