Intervention by northern Ont. police saved psychotic woman who stabbed herself in the neck

The province’s Special Investigations Unit. (File photo)

Note: Some of the graphic descriptions in this story may be upsetting to some. 

Ontario’s Special Investigation Unit has cleared police in Thunder Bay in a case in which a 33-year-old woman going through a psychotic episode suffered from serious self-inflicted wounds.

In fact, police actions likely saved her life, the SIU concluded.

The case highlights what police and mental health professionals can face when dealing with a person in crisis.

Evidence from police body cameras and other recordings painted a harrowing picture of someone in serious mental-health distress.

The incident began the morning of April 24. Surveillance footage from the apartment building shows the woman running down the hall, banging on and trying to open several doors.

At one point, she pulled out a knife.

Appeared to be hallucinating

“She appeared to be hallucinating and screamed at no one, and then stabbed the knife into the air,” the SIU report said.

Two people then entered the hallway and she chased them, holding the knife in her hand.

Police arrived with a mental health worker and attempted to communicate with the woman.

“The (police officer) asked the complainant to put the knife down and told her that they were there to help her,” the SIU said.

The mental health worker “tried to communicate with the complainant and told her that she was safe.”

A few minutes later, she slammed herself against a wall “and sliced the right side of her neck,” the SIU said.

“The complainant (the woman) then stabbed herself numerous times in her neck, abdomen and chest. Her attention shifted to the end of the hall where an unknown individual peeked around the corner. She threw the knife in that direction then slumped to the floor in the corner.”

At that point, the police officer approached her, handcuffed her and began administering first aid. The woman was bleeding heavily from the neck wound.

“The complainant appeared to stop breathing,” the SIU said. The police officer “began chest compressions until the complainant resumed breathing.”

Paramedics arrived at about 10:32 a.m., less than 10 minutes after police, and took over treatment.

The SIU concluded police on the scene did everything they could.

“Within the brief time they had to work with before she stabbed herself, the officers comported themselves with due care and attention for the complainant’s well-being,” the SIU said.

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“Given the knife in the complainant’s hands, the officers were wise not to rush at the complainant. The aim was to settle her if they could rather than risk provoking the complainant into rash behaviour.”

There wasn’t time to subdue the woman before she harmed herself, but police offered medical attention as soon as she slumped to the floor.

Rather than doing any harm, the SIU concluded that “the first aid they dispensed might well have saved the complainant’s life.”

Read the full report here.