A Schuylkill County woman is facing allegations that she broke a nurse’s wrist at a hospital last month, following a rooftop standoff with police.
Kaylee Frances Kern, 27, of Tamaqua, is accused of assaulting a nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital – Miners Campus in Coaldale on Dec. 19 as she was being treated in the ER.
Police in Tamaqua say they were called shortly before 6 p.m. on Dec. 19 to a home on Lafayette St. to find Kern standing on a second-story roof.
Kern was reportedly screaming that she was having a panic attack. Officers at the scene say they were aware that Kern had an active bench warrant from the Schuylkill County Detectives Office for failure to appear in court.
Kern allegedly refused multiple requests to leave the roof and return inside. According to police, she screamed and waved her arms while standing on the roof.
When asked if officers could enter the residence, Kern indicated they could. Officers entered through the unlocked front door and proceeded to an open window on the second floor to access the roof.
Police say Kern initially refused requests to come inside through the window. Eventually, she walked toward an officer to be assisted, but as she got near the window, she began to “forcefully resist,” police say.
Officers pulled Kern through the window and into the home, where she allegedly continued to struggle and refused verbal commands to stop. Police say Kern was kicking her feet, requiring officers to cuff her ankles to gain control.
Kern had to be carried to a patrol car, police say, and she was taken to the Coaldale hospital for treatment due to her behavior and because she allegedly stated she had used methamphetamine.
At the hospital, Kern was placed in a room at the emergency department. Police say she resisted being placed into wrist restraints on a gurney. And once restraints were applied, police say they uncuffed her and exited the room as hospital staff treated her.
The alleged assault occurred while a nurse was treating Kern.
Kern allegedly slipped her right wrist out of a restraint, prompting the nurse to hold Kern’s arm. She then allegedly pulled her left arm out of its restraint, grabbed the nurse’s right hand, and “yanked and twisted” the victim’s wrist, police say.
Police say the nurse suffered fractures to her wrist as a result of the action.
On Thursday, Kern was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Stephen Bayer and charged with felony aggravated assault against a designated individual as well as misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
Bayer set bail at 10% of $10,000 and Kern was remanded to Schuylkill County Prison. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27.
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