Alberta’s police watchdog, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), has concluded there are no reasonable grounds to charge a Lethbridge police officer or a civilian commissionaire in the 2023 death of a woman who died of a fentanyl overdose while in the Lethbridge Police Service’s short-term holding facility. The findings, released on Friday, detail the events surrounding the Sept. 2, 2023 incident.
Arrest and Initial Overdose
On Sept. 1, 2023, Lethbridge police officers arrested the woman for assault causing bodily harm following a stabbing. During the arrest, she was searched and a small amount of suspected drugs was found in a baggie in her hand. She was then taken to the Lethbridge police holding facility, where she soon showed signs of an overdose, including extreme drowsiness, according to the ASIRT report. EMS arrived at 12:38 a.m. on Sept. 2 and transported her to Chinook Regional Hospital.
Hospital Treatment and Release
At the emergency room, hospital staff observed the woman putting yellow fentanyl pills into her mouth. They administered seven doses of Narcan to revive her. By 4:35 p.m., a doctor noted she walked to the bathroom on her own and spoke with staff, recommending her release from hospital. Just under an hour later, she returned to the short-term holding facility. However, she had difficulty responding to questions and needed help to stand. A paramedic took her vital signs before she was placed in a cell.
Checks and Final Collapse
The civilian commissionaire under investigation was responsible for completing physical checks of prisoners every 15 minutes. She began her shift at 7 p.m. and completed some, but not all, of the required checks, ASIRT said. At 7:45 p.m., the supervising police officer under investigation attempted to wake the woman. After pushing her elbow and side with his foot and a clipboard, the officer wrote “refused to awake” and left. A community peace officer with the supervising officer noted the woman appeared to be snoring. At 8:58 p.m., an attempt was made to wake the woman, but no pulse could be found. CPR was performed, but EMS confirmed her death upon arrival.
ASIRT Findings and Context
In its report, ASIRT noted the police officer and civilian are not medical professionals and said it was “reasonable” to expect the woman would be exhausted and sleep in her cell. However, due to her medical state, Lethbridge police officers and staff needed to pay “significant attention” to her and seek further medical assessment if her condition changed. The officer’s 7:45 p.m. check “likely should have resulted in a check by a paramedic,” the report read, but no paramedic was working in the holding facility at the time. ASIRT concluded there were no reasonable grounds to believe any criminal offense occurred.
