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25-year-old Whitley County woman dies while in police custody

Posted at 3:43 PM, May 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-05 15:47:38-04

WHITLEY COUNTY, Ind. -- Indiana State Police are investigating the death of a Whitley County woman who died after experiencing a medical emergency while being transported to jail.

The woman, 25-year-old Kasie R. Chivington, was stopped around 11:10 p.m. Wednesday by a Whitley County sheriff's deputy for an alleged traffic violation.

During the stop, the deputy reportedly determined Chivington was operating while intoxicated, and also found her to be in possession of drug paraphernalia and a controlled substance believed to be marijuana.

Chivington was subsequently taken into custody and placed in a second deputy's patrol car. As she was being transported to the Whitley County Jail, Chivington began to have an unspecified "medical issue," according to the sheriff's department.

An ambulance was called and Chivington was transported to Parkview Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at approximately 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

The sheriff's department said it believes Chivington may have swallowed a plastic bag containing an undetermined substance at some point during the traffic stop.

An autopsy was performed Friday morning in Fort Wayne. Results from that have not yet been released.

The Whitley County Sheriff's Department requested  the Indiana State Police conduct an investigation into the incident.