BUFFALO — The New York State Division of Correction and the New York State Attorney General’s Office have each launched investigations into the death of a Niagara Falls woman who was being held in custody at the Erie County Jail.
A public information officer for the Erie County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that Elizabeth Calaty, 35, of the Falls, had been booked into the jail at 10:45 a.m. Friday, following an appearance in Buffalo City Court. The sheriff’s office said Calaty had been arrested two hours earlier by Buffalo police on an outstanding arrest warrant for a charge of petit larceny.
After completing the intake process, Erie County Sheriff’s corrections officers determined that Calaty should be placed on “detox observation.” Corrections officers said that, at 11:45 p.m., Calaty “refused a medical visit and signed off.”
Saturday morning, at 8:15 a.m., the sheriff’s office said a deputy and nurse practitioner found Calaty in her jail cell, “unresponsive with no pulse.” Calaty underwent CPR, but was pronounced dead by paramedics who responded to the jail.
Investigators said they found “no obvious signs of trauma” on Calaty’s body. Officials said a search of Calaty’s cell turned up no contraband.
An autopsy was conducted on Monday, and the Erie County Medical Examiner’s office said it was awaiting toxicology results to make a final determination on Calaty’s cause of death.
In addition to the attorney general and the commission of correction, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office of Special Investigation is also probing the incident.
Sheriff John Garcia said he had expressed his condolences to Calaty’s family.