Court grapples with how to handle senior who made 350 calls to 911, went to ER 137 times

A Winnipeg senior has spent more than 130 days in jail for making hundreds of phone calls to emergency response services in which she claimed crises that didn’t exist.

The case highlights the challenges posed by mentally ill offenders who resist medical treatment.

The woman, who is in her early 70s, had never been in trouble with the law, but in 2019 she began calling 911 and Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Services with repeated claims she was suicidal or suffering from a medical emergency.

When emergency responders knocked on her door, she turned them away. (The Free Press isn’t identifying the woman because her case involves suspected mental illness.)

Since then, the senior’s constant calls have tied up emergency responders for hundreds of hours and cost the city several hundred thousand dollars in wasted resources, a court was told last February.

“She is consuming massive resources from emergency services,” said Crown attorney Sarah Murdoch. “These are resources that are very strapped… This kind of behaviour by (the senior) can be a life-and-death situation for other members of the community who genuinely need these first responders.”

“This kind of behaviour by (the senior) can be a life-and-death situation for other members of the community who genuinely need these first responders.”–Crown attorney Sarah Murdoch

The woman called 911 nearly 350 times from August 2022 to February 2023, court was told at an August 2024 sentencing hearing, where she pleaded guilty to one count each of making harassing phone calls and sending false messages.

During the same time period, she placed 60 calls to Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Services.

“The overwhelming calls were always unfounded and she refused service once emergency services attended,” Crown attorney David Burland told provincial court Judge Dale Harvey. “There were numerous additional calls where (emergency service providers) were fairly certain it was her, but she did not leave her name.”

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

“There was never anything wrong with her,” Burland said.

In 2022, Winnipeg police convened a case management team made up of Shared Health, Community Mental Health Services and other health and social service providers “in the hopes of reducing the strain on emergency services,” Burland said.

“All of the agencies had the same experience with the accused: numerous services were offered, everything was rejected,” he said.

“All of the agencies had the same experience with the accused: numerous services were offered, everything was rejected.”–Crown attorney David Burland

The senior was admitted to hospital on a couple of occasions with mental health concerns “but she refused to engage with staff and would just leave,” Burland said.

In 2023, the woman started calling suicide crisis lines in other provinces, resulting in local police being contacted. When police showed up at her door she would again turn them away, denying she had claimed to be suicidal.

Later, she would call suicide hotlines from outside her home and not disclose her location, on one occasion she evaded police who were trying to find her for 13 hours.

Police arrested her after yet another false call on May 4, 2024, and she was denied bail.

Court has heard that the senior suffers from depression, anxiety, a suspected personality disorder, a benign brain tumour and other physical ailments. She has few social supports.

“She has numerous medical issues… and frustration dealing with the system,” defence lawyer Kevin Sneesby said at the senior’s 2024 sentencing hearing. “Maybe she just needs someone to talk to, perhaps some counselling. We all go through rough times in our lives.”

“Maybe she just needs someone to talk to, perhaps some counselling. We all go through rough times in our lives.”–Defence lawyer Kevin Sneesby

While in custody, efforts were made to have the senior enter the mental health court program, but she was denied admission given the absence of a firm diagnosis of a mental disorder.

Burland and Sneesby jointly recommended Harvey sentence the senior to two years of supervised probation, during which time she would be connected with senior-focused mental health services.

“This is a unique situation, not one that I’ve dealt with before,” Burland said. “She doesn’t need jail any further and she doesn’t need a fine. She needs supports.”

“She doesn’t need jail any further and she doesn’t need a fine. She needs supports.”–Crown attorney David Burland

Harvey agreed to the recommendation, which included a requirement the woman only contact emergency services when she has a legitimate emergency.

“Our health system is overburdened already, it’s disjointed and they are always tying to find more people to work in the system,” Harvey said. “I pray that no one suffered because of the waste you caused.”

The woman was back in custody less than two months later, accused of breaching her no-contact condition within three days of her release.

Court heard at her February sentencing hearing that she had made repeated calls to Health Links and suicide crisis lines claiming she had taken an overdose of Tylenol.

“Police contacted me desperate to determine what the options could potentially be to prevent (her) from this kind of behaviour,” Murdoch told Harvey. “You could describe what she is doing as a petty nuisance offence.. .but the magnitude of what is happening here surpasses that.”

Murdoch urged Harvey to sentence the woman to nine months in custody, which would allow enough time to free up a psychiatric bed at Health Sciences Centre, where she could undergo a thorough forensic assessment.

“At this point, there is some wait time to secure a bed,” Murdoch said. “If she is released, we can’t hold a bed for her… We are falling into this difficult situation where if she remains in custody, then realistically we can get her that psychiatric help. If she gets out, I would not be surprised if we saw her back in custody next week.”

“If she gets out, I would not be surprised if we saw her back in custody next week.”–Crown attorney Sarah Murdoch

Harvey said the court was “between a rock and a hard place” and had to impose a sentence appropriate for her crime.

“You need help, but we have to have the resources to make it available to you,” he said. “Keeping you in custody for a potential assessment is completely inappropriate.”

Harvey sentenced the senior to the equivalent of six months of time served.

She was back in custody May 21, accused of four counts of breaching her no-contact order. She was released with the consent of the Crown the following day.

Her next court date is June 18.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca