A Summerfield woman has pleaded not guilty to battering a registered nurse at Ocala Regional Medical Center.
Officers responded to a battery at the Ocala Regional Medical Center, 1431 SW First Ave., around 10:45 a.m., May 20, according to an arrest report from the Ocala Police Department. A 50-year-old patient, Mary Beth Lawson, had choked a medical staff employee.
Lawson told the officers that she was there overnight and was not given her proper medications, which “agitated” her.
The RN said that Lawson had called for a nurse through the phone attached to her bed. The RN walked into her room to find she was agitated, using foul language and raising her voice. She told Lawson to lower her voice and be respectful. Lawson sprang out of bed and charged at her, the report said.
Lawson proceeded to grab the RN by the neck with both hands, squeezing hard but not tight enough to stop her from breathing. The RN was able to push her off and press her button on her key card to get the attention of other staff members. When she got free, Lawson pushed her toward the window and scratched her lip with her fingernail, the report said.
The RN suffered visible redness around the left and right sides of her neck, along with a minor scrape on her bottom lip, the report said.
Another staff member who came at the very end of the altercation stated she saw Lawson grabbing the RN, but she did not know if it was her neck or her chest, the report said.
Lawson was arrested on charge of felony battery on a medical staff employee. She was booked at Marion County Jail and released after posting $5,000 bond. She pleaded not guilty to the charge on Tuesday.