The Special Investigations Unit has cleared a Niagara Regional Police officer in the overdose death of a woman while she was in a jail cell.
The SIU was called on May 21st, 2020 after the woman was pronounced deceased while she was in police custody.
She had been arrested the day before after breaching probation.
Video evidence shows the woman was searched over her clothes when she was arrested, but nothing was found.
The woman had a video court appearance the next day where she was refused bail and was told she was going to be sent to a correctional facility.
Video shows when she returned to her cell, she appeared upset and over the course of less than half an hour starting just after 2 p.m. she reached into her pants where fentanyl had been hidden and ingested the drug multiple times.
She was discovered unresponsive in her cell at 4:45 p.m. and an ambulance was called, but she could not be revived.
The SIU's director has ruled there are no reasonable grounds to believe the officer in question committed a criminal offence.
He says the woman had denied recent drug use while she was booked and did not exhibit symptoms of someone under the influence.
He further states that although a strip search had not been performed, it is not clear that it would have found the drugs or been legally justified since she was not arrested on a drug charge.
The report also notes the officer in question cannot be held responsible for a special constable's failure to check the woman's cell for nearly two hours leading up to her death.