VPD officer won't be charged in 2021 death of woman in jail cell

B.C.'s police watchdog says an officer who responded to a call of a suicidal woman who later died in a Vancouver jail cell may have failed in his duty to protect her from harm but will not face criminal charges.

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) released a report detailing the May 1, 2021, incident on Wednesday.

The report, written by the IIO's chief civilian director Ron MacDonald, says the woman called 911 just before 8 a.m. that morning, telling dispatchers she had been drinking and was considering suicide.

The woman — identified by the IIO only as the Affected Person, or AP — was not apprehended under the Mental Health Act because the responding officers did not feel that she was suffering from a mental disorder and did not appear to be heavily intoxicated or serious about taking her own life.

"However, officers were aware that there was an outstanding warrant for her arrest, so she was taken into custody," MacDonald wrote.

"The intention was to take her to a police facility for fingerprinting and then release her with a date to attend court."

The woman was first taken to the Cambie Police Station but was told that a technical problem with the fingerprinting process meant she would have to be taken to jail instead. Between the police station and the jail, officers noticed that the woman began slurring her words and was having trouble standing.

Nurses not notified

"Upon arrival at the jail, [witness officer 1] said the AP's condition had deteriorated to the point where it was necessary to get a wheelchair for her, and [the subject officer] said he would have jail staff notify the nurse so that AP could be medically cleared before being placed in a cell," according to the report.

However, another officer at the jail said that the subject officer didn't mention AP's deteriorating condition due to intoxication or a medical assessment as she was taken inside and placed on the floor to be searched.

She was taken to a cell where detainees would be checked on every hour by nurses. The nurses told the IIO that AP seemed alright during their first two checks — but on the third check, around noon, the woman was blue and didn't appear to be breathing.

Nurses and paramedics performed CPR, but the woman could not be resuscitated. 

An autopsy found that she died "from complications of cirrhosis of the liver with combined prescription drug and alcohol intoxication."

Officer failed in his duty: IIO

A medical expert said that medical attention may have saved the AP's life if it had been provided at a critical point, but said, "The onset of death was sudden and would have been difficult to reverse."

The subject officer did not provide the IIO with any evidence or his own account of the incident, so it's not clear why he didn't ask for AP to be assessed by a nurse.

"In these circumstances, this strongly suggests a failure by [the subject officer] to seek medical attention for AP as required by the duty to provide necessaries of life," MacDonald wrote.

But MacDonald said he didn't feel that failure constituted a criminal offence — writing that the woman "could very well have died regardless" and suggesting that nurses who would have examined the AP may not have sent her to hospital for further care.

"AP's death was evidently a result of longstanding lifestyle issues, and it is not clear that medical intervention would have altered the outcome for her," MacDonald wrote.

Jail cells not the best place for intoxicated prisoners

The IIO is mandated to investigate incidents in B.C. where members of the public experience serious injury or death after interactions with police.

In February, MacDonald wrote in a separate report that he had concerns about how prisoners who are intoxicated are housed in B.C., and he noted that police officers and jail guards are not trained medical professionals.

In the report, MacDonald wrote that "jail cells are not the best place for such prisoners."

He called it an "outdated practice, and proven to not adequately guarantee their safety and health," and pointed out that other options are already in place in some parts of B.C., such as sobering centres or jails and prisons that have health care professionals onsite.

"People who suffer from intoxication or substance issues often have underlying medical conditions. This is a health issue.

"Just because we've been doing it this way all the time doesn't mean it's the right way to do it."

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:

• Talk Suicide Canada: 1-833-456-4566 (phone) | 45645 (text between 4 p.m. and midnight ET).
• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (phone), live chat counselling on the website.
• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.
• This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.