Windsor Locks police said they have arrested a caregiver at a senior living community after an 83-year-old woman was injured.
Police said officers responded to Stonebrook Village, a senior living community at 550 Old County Road, on July 10 to investigate a report of an assault the day before.
They said the facility director was notified that the elderly woman fell out of her wheelchair just after 6 p.m. on Monday, July 9 when her caregiver, Christine Christensen, was pushing her down the hallway.
The video surveillance showed Christensen pushing the woman, then appear to deliberately push her forward, which caused her to fall from her wheelchair and to the floor, police said.
According to police, it appeared the woman was not prepared for the sudden fall because she couldn’t see Christensen behind her and could not brace herself, thus injuring the left side of her face and left arm.
The victim received medical attention and police obtained a warrant charging Christensen with third-degree abuse, second-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree assault of an elderly person.
The state Department of Public Health is investigating.
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Stonebrook Village said Christensen works for an outside vendor and is not one of their employees.
While the alleged victim did not want to talk, her daughter did.
"There are people advocating for my mom. What about people who don’t have advocates?" she told NBC Connecticut Investigates.
Christensen's bond was set at $50,000 bond. She is due in Enfield Superior Court on Tuesday, Sept. 4.
NBC Connecticut Investigates tried reaching out to suspect Christine Christensen, but has yet to make contact.
Home Helpers of Collinsville and Farmington Valley, which employs Christensen, provided NBC Connecticut with the following statement.
"All of our Caregiver professionals pass detailed federal and multi-state background checks before being assigned to any home or facility. We take our responsibility of protecting the dignity, health and safety of our clients very seriously and hold ourselves and those who represent us to the highest professional standards.
"Elder abuse is a very serious charge and we support a full and transparent investigation into any suspected incident and already have cooperated with the authorities investigating this incident.
"We all are grateful for the expressions of confidence we’ve received from the community and will continue to cooperate fully with local law enforcement to protect the security, dignity and independence of seniors across the region."
