A 93-year-old woman accused of trespassing got arrested by local police in Eustis, Florida. Juanita Fitzgerald, who was living at Franklin House – a specialized living community – refused to leave and said that unless they carried her out, she would not go.
A body cam video shows Fitzgerald struggling and fighting the officers trying to get her into the patrol. She was screaming, kicking, and resisting the officers’ attempt of apprehending her.
On several occasions, policemen asked her to gather her belongings and leave the property, but she did not listen. She refused the officers’ commands more than once, and she even slid out of her chair onto the floor.
She kept resisting when they were trying to pick her up and removed one of the deputy’s glasses. Finally, they managed to get Juanita into the patrol car and took her to Lake County Jail.
According to the police, they notified her of the eviction on Monday but refused to leave. The Franklin House Community decided to displace Fitzgerald after blaming her for mold in the apartment.
Karen Twinem, a spokesperson for the National Church Residences, says Ms. Fitzgerald said that she would not pay rent because she thought she would die soon. When investigators asked Fitzgerald why she would not pay her rent, she said, “that woman blamed me for the mold. I paid my September rent, and when she decided she was going to put me out, she wouldn’t accept any rent after that.”
Juanita Fitzgerald was close to spending her 94th birthday in jail, but a judge referred her to a caregiver on Thursday. Her birthday was on Friday.
This article was inspired by Independent // 93-year-old woman handcuffed and jailed after refusing to leave her care home