Crime & Safety

Woman Overdoses on Heroin During Drug Test, Police Say

Waukesha woman was being medically cleared following her arrest in the Town of Brookfield.

A Waukesha woman, who was being medically cleared at Waukesha Memorial Hospital, overdosed on heroin while she was supposed to be providing a urine sample, according to a criminal complaint filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court.

Niki J. Reichel, 27, was charged with disorderly conduct-domestic abuse on Monday. She faces up to 90 days in jail and $1,000 in fines.

According to the complaint:

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Officer from the Town of Brookfield Police Department arrested Reichel at a Waukesha gas station after a disturbance reportedly occurred in the Town of Brookfield in a vehicle at 2:38 a.m. Jan. 23. A man told police Reichel hit him in the head two times after they argued about her having a drug problem.

An officer arrested Reichel, who said she used Valium, and took her to the hospital for medical clearance because she appeared impaired.

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At the hospital, Reichel went into the bathroom to provide a urine sample, but she didn’t come out of the bathroom. A nurse eventually got her to come out of the bathroom. She was unable to stay awake, her breathing slowed to five breaths a minute and her oxygen levels dropped to 78 percent.

Reichel was revived with the drug Narcan. She told the officer she used heroin earlier, not Valium. She also said she hid heroin in her bra and snorted it in the hospital bathroom.


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