Care received while under arrest concerns quadriplegic's family
Police counter past crimes don't go away because of injury
SALISBURY -- A mo-ped crash robbing Sara Tocyloski of the use of her limbs resulted in a jailing that family members say imperiled her safety and wasted tax dollars.
The five harrowing days Tocyloski, 44, spent in police custody ended Tuesday when judges in Wicomico and Worcester counties allowed her pretrial release with electronic monitoring.
I'm not saying she didn't do something wrong," said Dorothea McGee, 64, about the drug charges related to her daughter's November wreck and her prior offenses. "This is about the taxpayers and the humanitarian issues exposed. She requires 24/7 care. She's a quadriplegic. She didn't commit armed robbery."
Tocyloski, who by family accounts can only wiggle her index finger and thumb on her right hand, spent 24 hours at the Wicomico County Detention Center and four days under guard at Peninsula Regional Medical Center. McGee alleges her daughter was handcuffed to the bed at PRMC and during the hospital stay, did not receive any of the more than a dozen medications she is prescribed for pain and psychological reasons.
On Monday, the Wicomico County Circuit Court deemed her "too sick to transport" for a court appearance, McGee said.
Police arrested Tocyloski on Friday at Genesis Healthcare & Genesis Rehabilitation Services in Salisbury, where she was an in-patient and where she was returned late Tuesday.
Tocyloski, who faced three outstanding warrants, had allegedly committed several drug offenses before those related to November's mo-ped accident in Berlin.
Tocyloski's older sister, Kim Thomas, 47, said her sister should not have been jailed for a mo-ped accident that continues to haunt her to this day.
"Where's she going to go?" Thomas said, with tears rolling down her cheeks. "She can't even curl her fingers. I mean c'mon, c'mon! She can't write. She can't feed herself."
But law enforcement officials, including the arresting officer, counter that a crime is a crime, regardless of one's medical condition. Sometimes enforcing the law means incurring extra costs.
Maryland State Trooper David Grinnan said the judge who issued the warrants denied his request to have them rescinded because of Tocyloski's "extensive criminal record."
The arrest was made with Tocyloski's doctor's consent, Grinnan said. Additionally, police ensured Tocyloski's sister was present and notified the Wicomico Detention Center of Tocyloski's more than a dozen prescriptions.
"The arrest certainly wasn't my proudest moment as a trooper," Grinnan said. "But these past issues don't go away because you are injured in a collision."
The WCDC is equipped to care for a range of inmate conditions, including paralysis, said Director Doug Devenyns.
Nevertheless, her brief incarceration posed challenges, he said. For example, staff couldn't take a booking photo of Tocyloski because the camera couldn't be lowered to the level of her stretcher, Devenyns said.
"I tend to agree (the WCDC) may not have been the most appropriate place for a person with her condition," said Devenyns, who helped lobby for her pretrial release. "But that does not mean we're not able to care for her. It just places an extra burden on staff."
But Tocyloski was transported to PRMC when her condition soon worsened from a pre-existing ailment. Hospital staff suspect it to be pneumonia, while McGee said it's a blood infection.
Her family also said doctors are testing her stomach region for cancer.
Estimating the extra cost of jailing Tocyloski is difficult, Devenyns said.
Posting a guard at the hospital can incur overtime pay, he said. And each ambulance ride Tocyloski requires comes with a price as well.
Salisbury Fire Department Deputy Chief Bill Gordy, who couldn't comment if his agency transported her by ambulance, said emergency trips by ambulance cost between $300 to $525.
McGee said she spoke with Salisbury City Councilwoman Shanie Shields and plans on contacting the American Civil Liberties Union office in Baltimore.