Police watchdog clears Hamilton police officer in February death of woman

Ontario’s police watchdog has cleared a Hamilton police officer in connection to a woman’s death in February of this year.

The 31-year-old lapsed into medical crisis while in a central Hamilton police cell on Feb. 11, and was pronounced dead shortly before 3:30 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Hospital in the city.

She had been arrested on Feb. 10 for seven outstanding ‘fail to comply’ warrants.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was notified of the woman’s death and launched an investigation.

READ MORE: Woman found dead in Hamilton police custody, SIU investigating

The SIU report says that the woman was transferred to a padded cell after banging her head on the first cell wall in which she was in. She was then checked every 30 minutes as per Hamilton police policy and was found not breathing around 2:30 a.m., then transferred to the hospital.

The officer with overall responsibility for the care of prisoners at the time of the woman’s death was identified as the main subject in the police investigation.

Upon review of the evidence, SIU Director Joseph Martino determined there were no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with her death.