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The as-yet unidentified woman had been arrested last Thursday, Feb. 17, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said on Monday.
"According to the preliminary investigation, emergency medical personnel were called to Paterson Police headquarters on Friday after the woman, who was lying on a bench in a holding cell, was found to be unresponsive at approximately 6 p.m. when an officer conducted a prisoner check," Platkin said.
"The woman was pronounced deceased at the police facility at 6:16 p.m.," he said.
The attorney general didn't say why a suspect purportedly charged with drug possession had been held that long -- or even at all -- given the lenient provisions of New Jersey's 2017 bail reform law.
State law and his own guidelines require Platkin's office to investigate deaths that occur “during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody," no matter what the circumstances are, he said.
The guidelines guarantee that the investigation is done “in a full, impartial and transparent manner," removing politics or personal agendas.
Once the investigation by the attorney general's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) is complete, the results are presented to a grand jury.
The grand jury reviews a host of evidence -- including witness interviews, body and dashcam video, and forensic and autopsy results -- to determine whether or not there was cause to suspect any wrongdoing on the part of law enforcement.
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