A 44-year-old woman is intensive care at Yale-New Haven Hospital after trying to hang herself in the police lock-up.
The incident occurred Monday evening.
Police arrested the woman around 9 p.m. She was involved in a fight on Whalley Avenue, according to city mayoral spokeswoman Elizabeth Benton. The woman allegedly bit Officer Joseph Staffiere during the arrest, caused Officer Raul Periera to pull a muscle in his leg, and kicked out a window, Benton said.
She was booked and incarcerated at police headquarters. Marshals from the state’s Judicial Branch, not the local cops, run the lock-up.
The marshal noted at intake that the woman appeared to be inebriated, according to Melissa Farley, a Judicial Branch spokeswoman. As part of the intake protocol, the marshal asked other questions, too, such as whether the woman appeared suicidal, depressed, or otherwise at risk of committing harm to herself. “The answer to all the questions was no,” Farley said.
The woman was locked up in a cell by herself at 10 p.m. At 10:14 p.m. she was observed using the sleeve of her jacket to try to hang herself, according to Farley. After CPR was administered, the woman was taken to Yale-New Haven, and remained in the intensive-care unit Wednesday afternoon.
Both the Judicial Branch and the New Haven police are investigating the incident, the spokeswomen said.