Niagara police cleared after woman drinks cleaning liquid in jail cell

Ontario’s police watchdog has cleared Niagara Regional Police of wrongdoing after a 32-year-old woman drank a bottle of cleaning liquid while being held in a Niagara Falls jail cell.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says a woman from Welland was arrested on Feb. 13 and transported to the Niagara Regional Police Service Central Holding facility at 5700 Valley Way in Niagara Falls.

Video evidence obtained by the SIU from Feb. 14 shows the woman reaching underneath her cell door to grab a bottle of sani-blend cleaner from a janitor’s cart and then retreating to the back of the room.

The woman was seen convulsing in her cell a short time later and staff notified EMS personnel and police. The woman was taken to hospital and treated for toxic ingestion.

The SIU says staff acted swiftly once the woman told them what she had done, and called for medical help soon after.

The report finishes by saying there is no reason to believe officers neglected their duty to care for the woman, as only constant monitoring could have avoided the situation, and that didn’t appear to be necessary under the circumstances.