Latest news with #ElizabethCollins
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Arrest of woman with dementia highlights need for crisis intervention training in Santa Rosa County
Editor's note: Please read an update to this story, SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — Prior to the arrest of 79-year-old Elizabeth Collins, who suffers from dementia, deputies had responded to her home in Santa Rosa County almost a dozen times since July of 2024 for various incidents stemming from Collins's medical condition. Escambia County's Massachusetts Avenue improvement project complete — what to know On June 2, deputies said Collins attacked her husband with scissors and a hammer, believing he was an intruder. Deputies said Collins's husband wished to press charges, leaving them with no choice but to arrest her on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. To help better respond to calls involving individuals suffering with dementia or intellectual disabilities, the sheriff's office says roughly half of their deputies have received crisis intervention training. 'They learn about de escalation skills. They learn about the resources that are out there, we talk a lot about tactics, how to create distance,' Deputy Nicholas Gongwer with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office said. The sheriff's office partners with places like the Lakeview Center, a behavioral health care provider, and provides crisis intervention training to law enforcement agencies around Northwest Florida. 'We definitely don't go in thinking that we're going to potentially have to arrest these people based on their behavior. We're looking for the best outcome and so we train to that effect,' Gongwer said. Since Collins's arrest, the sheriff's office said they're working with her family to get her out of jail to get the help she needs. 'We've formed this team around the Collins family to help them every step of the way. So she's not just incarcerated. We are all helping to get her out as soon as possible,' SAFE Program Liaison & Community Relations for the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office, Angela Nandin, said. The sheriff's office said the deputy responding to Collins's home did receive some type of crisis intervention training. Santa Rosa County issues boil water notice to Holley Navarre Water System customers Officials said their goal is to have every deputy crisis intervention trained. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Florida woman with dementia in jail after allegedly attacking her husband with a hammer
Editor's note: Please read an update to this story, GULF BREEZE, Fla. (WKRG) — 79-year-old Elizabeth Collins, who suffers from dementia, currently sits in the medical wing of the Santa Rosa County Jail. Baldwin County's first Safe Haven baby box blessed in Daphne That's after deputies responded to her home on Bay Woods Drive in Gulf Breeze last Monday, on June 2. Deputies said Collins attacked her husband with scissors and a hammer believing he was an intruder. According to an arrest report, deputies had responded to the home 11 times since July of 2024 for various incidents stemming from Collins's medical condition. Sheriff Bob Johnson said his deputies were left with no choice but to arrest her. 'They're in a no win situation,' Johnson said. 'They're either going to arrest a 79-year-old woman with dementia or they're going to leave her there and possibly she would kill a family member.' Florida's mental health law, the Baker Act, allows people to be detained without arrest to undergo an evaluation. However, it did not apply in this case because the law specifically excludes dementia from its definition of mental illness. 'The husband was adamant about pressing charges so by Florida state statute we took her into custody,' Johnson said. Now, the sheriff's office is working with the Council on Aging to get her out of jail and into the care she needs. 'We had spoken with the sheriff's office, they've been very proactive reaching out to us trying to do what's right for this case. We had been advising them a bit about the Medicaid enrollment process, and we know the family had started that, as well as what it might take to get facility placement for Ms. Collins,' Emily Echevarria, Marketing & Communications Director for the Council on Aging of West Florida said. Attorney Kimberly Sullivan reached out to the Council on Aging hoping to help. 'We've got great relationships with the amazing resources that we have in Pensacola so we are going to be reaching out to all of our resources to see what we can do to get those planets aligned so that we can get her hopefully where she needs to be,' Kimberly Sullivan, Attorney at Coastal Probate Trust & Elder Law said. Escambia County storm damage: Tree crushes Brewton woman's home, flooded roadways, creeks In the meantime, Sheriff Bob Johnson said the only solution to this problem is new legislation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Santa Rosa County woman accused of attacking husband with hammer now in memory care facility
SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — A Santa Rosa County woman with dementia accused of is out of jail and in a memory care facility. Escambia County hit-and-run driver sought 79-year-old Elizabeth Collins was arrested on June 2 after the incident at her Gulf Breeze home. Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office officials said the woman thought her husband was an intruder, which is why she attacked him. She was taken to jail because Florida's Baker Act, the mental health law, specifically of mental illness. The act allows those with mental health issues to be detained without arrest to undergo an evaluation. Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office looking for missing 10-year-old girl On Friday, June 13, Collins was transferred from the jail's medical wing to Navarre Gardens, which officials said will allow her to receive the specialized care she needs. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
