JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — A former assisted living caregiver is facing charges after police said she mistreated an elderly man with dementia.
The victim’s family used a video camera to check on him, but instead captured video of one of the alleged incidents.
The video showed the caregiver moving the patient's bed so he could not pull the emergency call button for help.
"I wanted to make sure they did what they said they were gonna do," a member of the victim's family said.
Police identified the caregiver as Teretha Dacres and said she intentionally neglected the man's needs when he tried to call for help.
"You can try all you want. Stay your behind in this bed," said Dacres on the surveillance video.
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"She came in the room and immediately started yelling at him not to pull the cord, 'You don't pull that cord,' and pulled the bed away from the wall," the family member said. "Doing that and being in the shape that he was in, he was unable to reach the emergency call button. There was no call for her behavior."
Johns Creek Police Maj. John Clifton said that after detectives viewed the video, they charged Dacres with reckless conduct and the family pulled the man from the facility.
"If you have any suspicions of this, contact your police department or your sheriff's department," Clifton said.
Officials told Channel 2's Mike Petchenik that Dacres worked at the Sunrise Senior Living facility for five years and that nothing like that had ever happened before. They said that it was not their normal way of doing things.
Petchenik asked, in return, how they knew whether or not it had ever happened before.
Sunrise Senior Living offered the following statement:
"The safety and wellbeing of our residents is our top priority. This is not in line with the high standards of care we expect from each team member. We are cooperating fully with local authorities, and the person in the video is no longer with the company. We remain committed to providing the best possible home for our residents."
Cox Media Group
