Report Faults Lowell Police In Woman's Death

LOWELL, Mass. (AP) — The highest-ranking Lowell police officer has apologized to the mother of a woman who died in department custody.

Superintendent William Taylor on Tuesday personally apologized to Alice Swiridowsky-Muckle, the mother of 31-year-old Alyssa Brame, who died of alcohol poisoning in a department cell in January 2013.

The apology came on the same day that Taylor released a 44-page report into the death that was highly critical of the officers and civilian employees on duty that night.

Taylor said some officers displayed "deliberate indifference" to Brame's obvious medical distress. The report says officers went 66 minutes without checking on her despite her condition.

Four officers have been placed on paid leave. They and three other department employees face more severe punishment.

Swiridowsky-Muckle says the report made her "sick to my stomach."

Lowell Police