No charges recommended against RCMP after woman died following arrest

Manitoba's police watchdog says the death of a woman who'd used cocaine was a "heartbreaking incident," but no charges should be laid against RCMP officers who had her in custody when she became unresponsive.

The woman was rushed to a hospital in Manitoba's Interlake region, then airlifted to St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, where she later died.

In its final report on the incident, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba said the preliminary cause of death was complications of transient cardiorespiratory due to acute cocaine toxicity.

"Subject to further evidence arising from the final autopsy, IIU has completed its investigation and this matter is now closed," the report says.

Around 8 p.m. on Jan. 15, officers responded to a 911 hang-up call at a residence in the Interlake community of Vogar, near Lake Manitoba Narrows, the report says.

They were told a woman under the influence of drugs had attempted to use a knife on someone else in the house, police told the IIU.

A witness at the house told officers the woman was shaky, sweating and delusional, and had tried to barricade the house with chairs after hallucinating about people who weren't actually there, the report says.

Another witness told the IIU the woman had called police, asking them to come get her because people were trying to stab her.

At some point, the woman climbed into a plastic storage bin on the porch and sat in it. When officers arrived, she was halfway in the tipped-over bin, on her hands and knees.

Two officers handcuffed her and lifted her up, then carried her to the back seat of a police vehicle. The woman was kicking and screaming once she was inside, the report says.

Officers told the other people at the house that they planned to take the woman to the hospital because she may have overdosed.

Not breathing, no pulse

On the way to Lakeshore Hospital in the nearby town of Ashern, about five minutes after leaving Vogar, the woman stopped making noise and she didn't respond when police spoke to her.

The officer pulled over and found she had no pulse and was not breathing, the report says.

Police called for an ambulance and provided emergency care until paramedics took over.

The woman was rushed to Lakeshore Hospital and then airlifted to St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, where she was pronounced dead on Jan. 16. 

A toxicology report confirmed the woman had consumed cocaine before being taken into custody. Although it hasn't yet received the final autopsy report, the IIU said it decided to release its report "to be accountable to the public in a timely manner."

"After a complete review of the evidence available in this heartbreaking incident … the civilian director is declining to lay charges in this matter," it says.

During its investigation, the IIU examined officer notes and reports, audio transmissions, video footage from the police vehicle and medical reports, in addition to interviewing officers and witnesses.