Woman asked to be taken to hospital before she died in cell, says BC police watchdog

British Columbia's police watchdog says a woman who died of an overdose in an RCMP jail cell had asked to go to hospital twice.

A report released by the Independent Investigations Office says the case continues to raise concerns about how intoxicated prisoners are housed in B.C., as police aren't trained medical personnel and jail cells aren't the best place for such people.

The report says Burnaby RCMP responded to a call on Mar. 6 after witnesses reported a woman who appeared intoxicated was bothering others in a restaurant, and the officers arrested her.

She was released the next morning but about half an hour later, police received reports the woman was asking students for drugs in a local high school.

She was once again arrested and taken to RCMP cells where she asked officers to take her to the hospital twice, but was ignored, and she later died of drug toxicity.

The IIO's interim chief civilian director Sandra Hentzen says she does not consider that the officer might have committed an offence, and won’t be referring the matter to Crown counsel for consideration of charges.

But Hentzen says the case raised alarms as the care of intoxicated persons should not fall solely to the police as it is a health-care issue.