Disabled veteran with Parkinson’s disease arrested twice for misuse of 911

MIDWAY, Ga. (WTOC) - A 68-year-old fully disabled veteran with Parkinson’s disease was arrested and jailed twice after calling 911 140 times over nine months.

Diane Gerrish lives alone in Midway. Court records show her son lived with her until early 2025. A Liberty County judge ruled in her favor in an eviction case against her son in December 2024, and the 911 calls began shortly after he left.

Calls for basic needs

Liberty County dispatch logs show from June 2025 to March 2026, there were 140 911 calls to Gerrish’s home. Recordings show she called when she was cold, when she was hot, and when she could not reach her water bottle or medication in the middle of the night. In one call, she told a dispatcher she was stuck in her bed.

Peter Robyn, a friend of Gerrish, said he repeatedly warned her to stop calling 911.

“I advised her so many times — stop calling 911. And she just couldn’t get that through her head,” Robyn said. “If they’re out at your house answering a frivolous call, they’re going to be prevented from helping someone that’s actually in dire need of help.”

When asked if he believed Gerrish understood the consequences of making non-emergency calls to 911, Robyn responded, “No.”

Court records show Gerrish’s son had been living with her until early 2025. Robyn said he helped her file an eviction after learning the son was abusive.

“I discovered that she had a son living at home that was abusive to her. I said, you need to get that guy out of your house, and I will help you,” Robyn said.

A judge ruled in Gerrish’s favor in December 2024. The 911 calls began shortly after her son left.

Robyn said Gerrish’s Parkinson’s medication contributed to her unpredictable condition.

“She takes medicine, very strong medicine, every three to four hours. That medicine just wrecks her. Sometimes she’s able to get up and walk, sometimes she’s stuck in a wheelchair or bed for hours on end,” Robyn said.

APS contacts and a mental health evaluation

“Unfortunately, there are times when there are no family members or anyone that’s willing to help out. And that leaves law enforcement, social services, and the person in a gap,” said Gail Poulsen, who spent nearly 19 years as an investigator with the Hinesville Police Department, becoming the go-to officer for cases like Gerrish’s.

Georgia law requires officers to report suspected elder neglect to Adult Protective Services within 24 hours. Liberty County Sheriff’s Office reports note APS was contacted at least five times over the nine-month period.

APS visited once, in August 2025. A Liberty County Sheriff’s Office report notes that day, Gerrish was walking without her wheelchair and told the caseworker she did not need help. Five days later, a deputy wrote in an incident report that Gerrish “could not take care of herself in the state that she was in.”

On March 3, 2026, Liberty County deputies sent Gerrish for a mental health evaluation at Liberty Regional Medical Center. She was released and deemed cognitively sound. APS opened a case file and said they would check on her “when possible.”

Arrest and second jailing

Eight days later, Gerrish called 911 again, saying she needed her heater turned off. Deputies came to her home, lifted her from a bed into her wheelchair, and took her to jail. Deputies did not use restraints, noting her “frail medical condition.”

Body camera footage captured the moment of her arrest.

“Why are you doing this to me? I have not been abusing anything,” Gerrish said.

“I’m not going to argue with you. We can talk about it in court,” a deputy responded.

Robyn said Gerrish should not have been arrested.

“She is, in fact, a veteran. She is a female senior citizen with a terrible disease. She should never have been arrested and put in jail,” Robyn said.

When Gerrish failed to appear for a subsequent court hearing, she was jailed a second time. She pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful conduct during a 911 call and was sentenced to one year of probation. As a condition of probation, she is not allowed to make any non-emergency calls to 911.

Dispatch logs show there have been at least 60 more 911 calls to Gerrish’s home through June 2026.

Questions about available resources

Robyn said he once drove Gerrish to the Veterans Affairs hospital in Charleston. The VA is not mentioned in any LCSO incident report. More than 8,000 veterans are estimated to live in Liberty County.

Poulsen said contact between the VA and law enforcement was limited in her experience.

“I know that occasionally we would get calls for assistance from the VA regarding one of their patients, but not many,” Poulsen said.

Poulsen said arrest was rarely considered in cases like Gerrish’s.

“Only one time can I recall did we consider arrest. But we did not actually resort to it. Making the person aware of the consequences was enough,” Poulsen said.

Liberty County Sheriff William Bowman declined an on-camera interview. In a written statement, his office said LCSO “strives to exhaust all available resources when dealing with individuals who have, or may have, mental health issues.”

In the case in question, the individual was arrested pursuant to a warrant that had been issued by a judge. The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office strives to exhaust all available resources when dealing with individuals who have, or may have, mental health issues.

In Georgia, an emergency mental health evaluation is based on specific legal criteria and not solely on the presumption or existence of a mental illness. Law enforcement officers must have probable cause to believe that an individual, due to mental illness, poses an imminent risk of serious harm to themselves or others, or is unable to care for their basic physical needs.

Mental illness alone, unusual behavior, or repeated 911 calls do not meet this legal standard. Officers must base their actions on specific, articulable facts, including the individual’s statements, observed behavior, witness information, and other available evidence. Additionally, an emergency mental health evaluation requires adherence to established legal procedures and, when applicable, judicial authorization. Repeated misuse of 911, by itself, does not justify an emergency mental health evaluation unless it is accompanied by behaviors indicating an imminent safety risk.

In Georgia, misuse of the 9-1-1 system is prohibited under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-39.2, Unlawful Conduct During a 9-1-1 Call. This statute makes it a crime to knowingly misuse the emergency communications system.

Examples of unlawful use of 9-1-1 include:

• Making a false report of an emergency, crime, or incident.

• Calling 9-1-1 to harass, annoy, or threaten a dispatcher.

• Repeatedly calling or remaining connected to 9-1-1 with the intent to disrupt emergency services.

• Using abusive or obscene language that serves no legitimate emergency purpose.

Sheriff Bowman is also actively working to secure the construction of a new jail facility to better meet the needs of Liberty County’s continued growth. The proposed facility would include a dedicated mental health housing unit designed to safely house individuals experiencing mental health crises separately from the general inmate population.

Our current jail is outdated and was not designed to adequately accommodate individuals with significant mental health needs or juvenile populations. A modern facility would enhance safety for inmates, staff, and the community while allowing for more appropriate care, treatment, and management of these populations.

Liberty County Sheriff's Office

Both APS and the VA declined to comment on the case, citing HIPAA laws. The VA also declined to answer general questions about its services and presence in Liberty County, including what services are available to disabled veterans in the county, whether there is any formal coordination between the VA and Liberty County emergency services, or what the VA’s process is for conducting outreach to isolated veterans how may not be proactively seeking services.

We were unable to reach Gerrish by phone or at her home.

In 2025, APS investigated 1,428 reports referred by law enforcement statewide. APS said being elderly or having a mental illness does not necessarily fall under its authority to investigate. Elderly people in need of mental health assistance are to be referred to the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health.