'Unqualified' apology given to Labrador woman held naked in cell

The RCMP has made a new, and this time unconditional, apology to a Labrador woman who was kept naked in a police lockup over two days.

The force told Carol Ikkusek last weekthat it apologizedif she felt she was mistreated last February, when she was held in the lockup in Happy Valley-Goose Bay without clothing or a mattress.

Mental health advocates criticized the apology as not going far enough.

On Sunday, Insp. Greg Bursey travelled to Nain to meet with Ikkusek.

"He offered an unqualified and unconditional apology on behalf of the RCMP for the indignity she experienced, and she thanked him for that," said Sgt. Peter McKay, who speaks for the force in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Ikkusek could not be reached for comment Monday.

When Ikkusek was in lockup, she threatened to use clothing to hang herself.

An RCMP officer brought her to the hospital in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, but returned Ikkusek to the lockup because the hospital's secure room was not available.

The RCMP officer was disciplined for not handling the case appropriately.