The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is investigating the death of a woman in Lethbridge Police Service custody.
According to LPS, just after 11:30 p.m. Friday, September 1st, officers arrested a 31-year-old woman in connection to an aggravated assault. Police found the woman was on an unknown substance and was assessed by EMS before being taken to Chinook Regional Hospital, where she stayed the next day before being released back into police custody.
While in LPS custody, she was placed in a holding cell, where officers later found her unresponsive; the woman was pronounced deceased on the scene after officers and EMS unsuccessfully administered life-saving measures.
“As required by the Alberta Police Act, the Director of Law Enforcement was notified and directed ASIRT to conduct an independent investigation.”
ASIRT investigators arrived in Lethbridge on September 2nd, and the investigation is reported to be ongoing.