Woman accused of repeated 911 calls, resisting officers at Fort Myers hotel

FORT MYERS, Fla. —

A 20-year-old woman was arrested early Tuesday after police say she repeatedly called 911 without an emergency and resisted officers attempting to take her into custody at a Fort Myers hotel.

Officers with the Fort Myers Police Department responded at about 2:47 a.m. to the Marriott Hotel on Metro Parkway following two 911 hang-up calls from the same phone number, according to police.

Authorities said officers had already responded earlier in the night, around 2 a.m., to three separate 911 calls from a woman. The caller, later identified as Madison Heath, did not require medical assistance or emergency services at that time and was warned that 911 should be used only for legitimate emergencies. The Fort Myers Fire Department and Lee County EMS also responded during the earlier incident, police said.

When officers returned to the hotel, Heath told police she was not experiencing a medical emergency and did not want to be transported to a hospital. She initially denied calling 911 and said she had been asleep.

However, officers said that when they dialed the phone number used to contact emergency services, Heath’s cellphone rang. Heath then voluntarily showed officers her call history, which police say displayed multiple outgoing calls to 911.

Police reported that Heath showed signs of impairment, including slurred speech, swaying while standing, dilated pupils and making incoherent statements.

Based on the repeated calls, the lack of an emergency, and the earlier warning, officers determined there was probable cause to arrest Heath for misuse of the 911 system, police said.

As officers attempted to place her under arrest, Heath was accused of resisting by pulling away, tensing her arms and refusing to comply with commands, according to police. Officers used physical control techniques to apply wrist restraints. Heath again is accused of resisting while being escorted from the hotel room and had to be manually escorted to a patrol vehicle with the assistance of another officer, police said.

Heath was booked into the Lee County Jail on charges of misuse of 911 services and resisting an officer without violence.

Her cellphone was seized and submitted into evidence because it was allegedly used in the commission of the offense.

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