Mother, 92, daughter at odds over caretaking, and Fayetteville police step in

Fayetteville police are investigating a July 18 incident involving a 92-year-old woman and her daughter/caregiver after the daughter suggested, then refused, to let police contact her mother’s doctor over medications the daughter claimed she did not have to dispense.

Fayetteville Police Department spokesperson Ann Marie Burdett said officers on July 18 were dispatched to a residence where E-911 advised police that another woman terminated the call to E-911. The woman alleged her mother was on steroids, and the medication made her crazy. Attempts were made to call the number back, but they went unanswered.

Burdett said police arrived at the home and met with the complainant/caller, who appeared scared and visibly shaken. The complainant/caller stated the person who terminated the E-911 call is her daughter/caretaker.

The 92-year-old complainant said her daughter has been verbally abusive and intimidating her for several years by constantly yelling at her and ordering her around. The complainant went on to say her daughter purposely leaves the telephone off the hook for most of the day so she cannot receive or make calls, Burdett said.

Burdett said the officer spoke with the daughter of the complainant, who said she is her mother’s caretaker and has power of attorney.

A neighbor close to the family provided a statement to the officer, which stated the complainant is more of a caretaker to the daughter, Burdett added.

“The complainant asked that the daughter be removed from her home. The officer explained that she would not be able to be removed under the current circumstances,” Burdett said, noting that the officer then left the scene.

Burdett said that a short time later there was a medical call at the home where the daughter refused to dispense the prescribed medication to her mother because she didn’t think her mother needed the medication and that she could withhold the medication because she was her caretaker.

“The officer advised the daughter that this was not the case, and the daughter asked the officer if they wanted to speak with the doctor,” Burdett explained. “The officer said they would like to talk with the doctor, and the daughter refused.”

This is an open and active investigation and has been turned over to the Fayetteville Criminal Investigations Division for further investigation.