The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Police intervene in mother daughter dispute
By Edward Freundl, Heritage Newspapers
PUBLISHED: March 22, 2007
Chelsea police became entangled in a complex family dispute that resulted in a woman checking herself into a hospital to escape a drug habit and her mother's unwanted involvement.
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According to a police report, a 37-year-old Chelsea woman requested assistance from Chelsea police at about 3 p.m. March 3 to retrieve personal property from her mother's residence in the 700 block of West Middle Street.
The report stated the woman had checked herself out of a drug dependency program at Chelsea Community Hospital because her mother had been harassing her with repeated cell phone calls.
A police officer listened to the messages and determined them to be accusatory and threatening.
He put the woman in contact with the Ann Arbor homeless shelter to arrange a place to stay, but she told him she would try to re-enter the hospital drug program instead and left with a female friend.
About 10 minutes later, the report stated, the woman returned to the police department in tears, saying that her mother had tried to block their exit from the Country Market parking lot on South Main Street, then followed the two women all the way back up Main Street to the police station.
The officer came outside and observed the 57-year-old woman parked directly behind the daughter's car. She demanded to talk with her daughter, and the officer twice had to ask the woman to leave.
The mother said she had a right to intervene because she had signed papers giving her full guardianship over her daughter, but could not produce them, the report said.
He did not ask a third time, instead warning the woman she would be arrested if she refused to leave because her daughter was under police protection and did not want to see her.
The officer told the mother that her daughter did not appear to be mentally or physically incapacitated, and that she could pursue the matter though the courts.
He also gave her his business card and told her she could follow up the matter with Police Chief Ed Toth on March 5 if she wished.
The older woman left the station as ordered, but called police a short time later claiming that her daughter and friend had thrown eggs at two of her cars and flattened one of her tires on "Devil's Night," Oct. 30.
According to the police report, the officer asked why she had waited more than four months to report the damage.
She said had, but the officer who responded did not notice any vehicle damage.
The woman also complained that her daughter's friend had made harassing phone calls to her.
She told police that her daughter and her friend admitted to her they had caused the damage and made the calls, but the officer told her that in the absence of any evidence to support her statement, the women would have to confess their guilt to police.
The woman was advised to make a police report immediately and photograph any damage if it happens again.
The following day, the report stated, the daughter called the police officer handling her case that she had been admitted to a hospital elsewhere for drug dependency and depression.
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