The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has ended its probe of a summer incident involving Chatham-Kent police.
It took place on the afternoon of July 31. A 34-year-old woman was arrested shortly before noon that day for failure to comply with a release order. She was taken to police headquarters, searched, and sent to the courthouse.
At about 4:30 p.m., officers who arrived at the courthouse to pick the woman up found her unresponsive.
"The officers administered two doses of Narcan, and emergency medical services were summoned," read a release from the SIU. "The complainant was taken to Chatham-Kent Health Alliance. During her triage, she admitted to having consumed fentanyl. The complainant was admitted for observation and placed on a Narcan intravenous drip. At the time of the notification, the complainant was conscious."
SIU Director Joseph Martino said that the woman was not arrested on a drug charge and did not appear to be under the influence. He also stated that short of continuous monitoring, nothing could have prevented the woman from ingesting the drugs that were on her despite being searched.
"However, for the same reasons a strip search was probably not authorized, it would not have been apparent that continuous supervision was necessary," said Martino. "It should be noted that cell area staff acted quickly after the Complainant’s last ingestion of drugs to administer emergency first-aid and secure medical attention."
The SIU concluded that officers did not engage in criminal activity, and the file has been closed.
