Florida Woman Jailed For Harassing Police 12,000 Times
A Florida woman called police more than 12,000 times since the beginning of 2022 but did not need help, according to court records.
Carla Jefferson, 51, called 911 thousands of times to harass, belittle and “yell obscenities” at officers, according to a complaint/arrest affidavit filed in Pinellas County.
On May 12, authorities sent her a letter telling her that if she continued to misuse the 911 system, she would be charged.
Despite receiving the warning letter, Jefferson called the St. Petersburg Police Department’s communications center more than 1,000 times between May 15 and the end of June.
The calls, placed from two telephone numbers registered in her name, accounted for 10% of the total call volume to the police department’s non-emergency line, according to the document.
On May 30 alone she made 406 calls to the police department, the affidavit says.
Many of her calls were “vulgar, threatening or obscene,” and she often made statements such as, “Hang up and I will call back,” according to the affidavit. “Many calls contain extreme expletives, sexual innuendo, and belittling remarks to the communications staff.”
On June 30, officers went to Jefferson’s home at 1:06 p.m., and she called 911 one minute later.
Jefferson yelled at the officers outside her home and gave them the middle finger while on the phone with dispatchers. The call lasted approximately 20 minutes before officers arrested her and charged her with misuse of the wireless 911 system and harassing telephone calls.
While out on bond for those charges, Jefferson continued to call the police “solely to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass,” according to a second arrest affidavit.
During a 24-hour period beginning on July 2, Jefferson called the department’s emergency communications line 512 times and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s communications center twice, the document states.
She often demanded that officers come to arrest her, but then would close herself inside her home and refuse to answer the door when they arrived.
Officers arrested Jefferson a second time after 10:15 p.m. on Aug. 8 and charged her with making harassing phone calls.
“At the time this affidavit was written(,) the defendant called back and told officers to come to arrest her,” the affidavit says. “… she loves playing this game.”
Jefferson was booked into the Pinellas County jail and released the next day on her recognizance, according to jail records.
Florida law states that the 911 system must be used “solely for emergency communications by the public.” Misusing the emergency system is a first-degree misdemeanor that can carry a penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of $1,000.