System failed woman kept naked in cell: mother, advocates

The mother of a woman kept naked for two days in a Labrador lockup cell last year says her daughter's treatment was inhuman.

"I found it really cruel, leaving a women stark naked in a cell with no mattress or blanket or anything," Nancy Ikkusek said, responding to an RCMP apology this week for how an officer dealt with Carol Ikkusek last February.

Carol Ikkusek, a Nain resident who had threatened to harm herself while awaiting a court appearance last February, was kept in the lockup because a secure room was occupied at the hospital in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

The RCMP said this week it was sorry if Ikkusek felt she had been mistreated, and that the officer who handled the case had been disciplined.

Nancy Ikkusek said she hopes some good comes out of the experience.

"That's something that's going to stick with the RCMP, I guess. Hopefully, it won't happen to another human being that's put in jail," Nancy Ikkusek told CBC News.

Mental health advocates, meanwhile, say the RCMP and the health-care system failed Carol Ikkusek, now 27.

Treatment unacceptable: advocates

Jan Dymond, the regional director of the Community Health Awareness Network in central Labrador, said it was unacceptable for Ikkusek to have been kept in a cell with no clothing and no mattress, even if she had threatened to use clothing to hurt herself.

"I can't believe that was the only alternative that they can think of. I can think of several others," Dymond told CBC News.

She suggested assigning a matron to the case, or approaching her organization for assistance. She said a person in Ikkusek's condition needed a hospital bed, not a jail cell.

"It just doesn't make sense to me."

Geoff Chaulk, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association's division in Newfoundland and Labrador, said the RCMP's apology is not strong enough.

"I've been working in this field for 25 years, in a forensic setting," he said."I've never heard of this kind of treatment. It was very inappropriate."

Chaulk said the RCMP should take advantage of training programs so that staff better understand problems involving mental illness.