Keisha S. Kennedy (Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office)
A 34-year-old woman in Ohio was convicted of multiple felonies for making hundreds of fake 911 calls, tying up emergency services to such an extent that it resulted in the death of another person, authorities said. Keisha S. Kennedy formally pleaded guilty last week to one felony count of disrupting public services, one felony count of making false alarms, and 25 counts of misuse of 911 systems, authorities announced.
Authorities said the Zanesville woman had been “effectively using local first responders for her personal entertainment for ambulance rides to the hospital.”
According to a news release from the Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office, Kennedy called 911 “almost 400 times” since 2020 to complain about “various illnesses.” As a result, the South Zanesville Fire Department (SZFD), which handles emergency responses in the area, became “strained by her improper and frequent use of emergency resources.”
Prosecutors said that the effects of Kennedy’s behavior were felt throughout the community, particularly because first responders taxiing her to the hospital for “nonexistent emergencies” meant those services were unavailable to respond to actual emergencies.
“For example, SZFD responders were unable to respond to a call involving a person unable to breathe because they were transporting Kennedy for a fake call. The person with breathing trouble later died,” the release states. “In another case, SZFD was understaffed for a fire, due to personnel attending to Kennedy.”
The 911 calls from Kennedy were so frequent that it was not unusual for her to call multiple times in a single day, prosecutors said.
The calls continued despite doctors at Genesis Hospital “repeatedly” informing Kennedy that she had no medical issues. Regardless, every time she was brought in, the facility was “forced to triage her,” per the release, emphasizing that taxpayers funded her transportation and hospital visits through Medicaid.
Prior to pleading guilty, a forensic psychologist evaluated Kennedy and determined that she demonstrated “a factitious disorder,” which prosecutors said “means that she’s a liar.” The disorder refers to people who deceive others “by appearing sick, by purposely getting sick or by self-injury,” according to the Mayo Clinic.
For example, law enforcement officers on Aug. 23, 2023, responded to a report of a behavioral emergency at Licking Memorial Hospital involving Kennedy, prosecutors said. When questioned by first responders, Kennedy “pretended she was suddenly unable to stand or walk.”
“After being helped into a sitting position on a bench, Kennedy pretended to be unconscious,” the release states. “She then pretended to wake up and told officers that she did not understand the meaning of being read her rights because she was disabled.”
Doctors at the hospital confirmed to police that she was not disabled and did not need any medical care.
Kennedy had also been abusing the emergency services resources in several other counties, including Licking, Guernsey, Franklin, and Cuyahoga counties, per the release. Last year she was convicted of misusing the Licking County 911 system.
“Obviously some type of check or balance needs to exist, so that this type of abuse is more quickly reported by EMS to law enforcement because 350 pointless ambulance runs is absolutely ridiculous,” Muskingum County Assistant Prosecutor John Litle said in a statement. “I was absolutely shocked when this case was brought to my attention by South Zanesville Police Chief Mark Ross. We reached out to the Sheriff’s Office for an investigation and Detective Richard Perry was able to quickly lock down a case and get this abuse stopped.”
Kennedy’s sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
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