Five months in jail for bogus 911 caller

She’s been in and out of jail for more than three years after placing hundreds of bogus calls to crisis lines and emergency services and costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in wasted resources.

On Thursday, the 73-year-old woman was back in jail as she appeared by video before the same judge who had sentenced her to custody just four months ago.

“Here we are again, same issue, same repercussions and no solution,” defence lawyer Julia Mann told provincial court Judge Sandy Chapman.

Last November, the woman was sentenced to 90 days in custody and 18 months of probation after she admitted to making repeated “meritless” calls to 911 and crisis hotlines between April 17, 2025, and her arrest on Aug. 14.

The woman received credit for time served and was released, but was back in custody just one week later, charged with breaching a condition of her probation that she not call 911 or other emergency services unless there’s a real emergency.

The woman, who court has been told has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder with obsessive compulsive disorder traits, was released a week later, then returned to custody Feb. 9 after placing multiple bogus calls to 911.

On Thursday, Chapman sentenced the woman to the equivalent of five months in jail, her longest sentence to date, all but 10 days of which she has already served.

Court heard the woman has undergone four psychiatric assessments, none of which found any evidence she is mentally ill or suffering from dementia, and that she has refused to get help from multiple community resources that have been made available to her.

The woman’s actions tie up emergency resources that could be used by city residents in legitimate distress, Chapman said.

“We have people with serious needs,” Chapman said. “If you are taking these resources from people in the community, then the community is suffering and that is the harm you are causing.”

“At the end of the day if you don’t listen and you won’t stop , then my job becomes protection of the public and that’s where the lengthier sentences are going to come into play,” she said. “The longer I have you in custody, the longer the public will be safe in terms of the availability of those resources.”

Court was told the woman called 911 on Feb. 9, claiming she had swallowed 20 extra strength Tylenol tablets, then was belligerent with emergency responders who arrived at her door, telling them she didn’t require care. The woman placed more calls to 911, claiming she couldn’t breathe and needed an ambulance. Emergency responders showed up again and she refused their help.

When police officers arrived, the woman refused to answer their questions and shouted racist epithets. Police, after determining the woman was not in medical distress, arrested her for breaching her probation.

“She’s made hundreds of calls and this history has resulted in other calls not being answered,” said Crown attorney Terry McComb, who recommended she be sentenced to six months in jail. “We’ve had complainants take the stand (in court) saying they called 911 and they didn’t answer the phone – it’s because of incidents like this.”

Mann argued the woman has fallen through the cracks of a medical system that has failed her. Court heard she was denied admission into mental health court because borderline personality disorder is considered a conduct disorder, not a mental illness.

“She is genuinely suicidal at times (and) one of these times the fallout of this going to be something very tragic,” Mann said.

McComb said the woman has the ability to address her behaviour, but has instead chosen to refuse all help.

In August 2024, the woman pleaded guilty to one count each of making harassing phone calls and sending false messages and was sentenced to two years of supervised probation.

Court was told then the woman called 911 nearly 350 times and placed 60 calls to Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Services between August 2022 and February 2023.

From mid-2022 to 2023, the woman went to hospital emergency rooms 137 times.

She placed numerous calls to suicide crisis lines, but would refuse services when emergency responders arrived at her home.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca