SUN CITY, Ariz — Update:
Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has arrested the caretaker, Gloria Biamushinga, on one count of vulnerable adult abuse after investigating the incident.
Original Story:
Heartbreaking video out of Sun City shows a caretaker allegedly hitting an elderly woman who has dementia.
The incident was captured on camera inside the woman’s apartment at an assisted living facility.
Tracy Ripley shared the video with 12 News where her grandmother, Lurlyne appears to be hit by one of her caretakers.
“I immediately wanted to cry, I was so shocked, like how could this even happen,” Ripley said. “You are the one responsible for caring for her and that’s how you treat her? It just makes me sick.”
Lurlyne is 96-years-old and has dementia. Ripley’s family placed her and her husband at The Woodmark at Sun City, an assisted living facility, back in January.
“We’re not able to care for her in our homes because she requires a lot more care than any of us are able to give,” Ripley said.
The family added a camera to keep tabs on what was happening when family wasn’t there. After Lurlyne’s husband died in March, the camera added extra security.
“I was glad we had the camera so we could see her and know that she was safe and taken care of,” Lurlyne said.
On Friday, Ripley said the camera caught her grandmother asking a caretaker to put her footrest down.
“She was unable to do that for herself and they were not listening to her,” Ripley said.
In the video, Lurlyne is seen getting more agitated.
“She threw her water on the caregiver and then threw the cup off to the side and the caregiver hit grandma on the way to picking up the cup and then with the cup as she was leaving the room,” Ripley said.
Ripley said the strikes left Lurlyne with bruises near her left eye.
“With grandma and the dementia, she reminds me a lot of a toddler,” Ripley said. “I have a toddler and that’s exactly - you know, he acts like that. She acts like that. You don’t retaliate you don’t hit them.”
The Woodmark at Sun City would not comment on the incident. Ripley said they fired the caretaker, but her family wants to see more done.
“You feel like this caregiver that it just came so naturally to her that it does worry us,” Ripley said. “We’d like to see her spend some time in jail.”
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office tells 12 News they are investigating the case, saying charges will be submitted to the county attorney.
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