94-Year-Old Atlanta Woman Arrested, Shackled To Bed, Says Family
WSB-TV
Wed January 28, 2009
Area: Atlanta
ATLANTA - Family members are outraged after they said their 94-year-old relative was arrested and shackled to a bed at Grady Hospital.
Fran Daniel said her mother, who suffers from dementia, was charged with assaulting her roommate at a metro Atlanta nursing home.
WSB-TV Channel 2 obtained a copy of the police report that detailed the arrest of Theodora Garreau.
The nursing home said the 80-pound elderly woman physically attacked her roommate.
But Daniel said the nursing home should have resolved the incident without calling police.
"I mean … I really don't understand how she can be charged with battery," said Daniel. The incident happened at the Westminister Commons nursing home in midtown Atlanta.
"I never thought my mother would get arrested," said Daniel.
The police report indicated that Garreau threw a phone at her roommate, causing a small cut to the roommate's lip.
Jeff Andrews, the administrator for Wellington Healthcare which owns Wellington Commons Nursing Home, told WSB-TV Channel 2 that Garreau and the roommate were involved in a physical altercation and had to be separated by a nurse, adding that Garreau was the aggressor.
The nursing home said it asked the roommate's family if they wanted to press charges and that's when police were called.
Police haven't commented on the matter.
Daniel said the nursing home reacted in an unprofessional manner.
"She had meds to be sedated. They could have restrained her safely and taken care of the issue in-house," said Daniel.
Daniel said she isn't happy that her mother was allegedly shackled to a bed while she was under arrest at Grady and has hired an attorney.
"She didn't throw a phone at anybody. She doesn't recall throwing a phone at anybody," said attorney Robert Kaiden.
Kaiden said calling the police was a drastic measure.
"I think it's borderline abuse. I think they have abused this woman," said Kaiden.
Garreau was released on bond. Her family is searching for another nursing home.
"I don't want anyone to ever go through this what we went through," said Daniel.
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