Inquest called into death of woman in Thompson jail cell

Manitoba's chief medical examiner has called an inquest into the death of Thompson woman who died in an RCMP jail cell hours after being detained by police.

Police detained Celine Samuel, 44, from Northlands Denesuline First Nation, on Feb. 1, 2020, after they were called to a McDonald's in Thompson. They were told a woman who appeared intoxicated needed help.

After paramedics cleared her for detention, police took Samuel to the local RCMP detachment, where they left her alone in a concrete cell with no mattress, pillowsor blanket.

Family members told CBC News Samuel was not well and had been at a Winnipeg hospital weeks earlier after suffering multiple seizures.

When officers checked on Samuel at 10:49 p.m., she was on the floor of the cell and breathing, the chief medical examiner's office said in anews release.

When they checked again at 11:05 p.m., Samuel appeared to have stopped breathing, and police and paramedics were unable to resuscitate her.

"The cause of death was determined to be acute/subdural hematoma due to blunt head trauma due to a fall. The manner of death was accidental," the chief medical examiner's office said.

The inquest is being called because Samuel was in police custody at the time of her death. It will look into the circumstances of her death and attempt to determine if anything could be done to prevent future deaths.

In November 2020, the province announced it would open a new sobering centre in Thompson, where police and community groups could drop off an intoxicated person to be held overnight instead of sending them to the RCMP detachment.

The provincial government has not said when the new sobering centre, to be located at the former Polaris Centre at the University College of the North, will open.