TACOMA, Wash. — A Tacoma woman with tuberculosis was found in contempt of court orders Friday as she continues to refuse to isolate and get treatment.
A judge ordered for her involuntary detention, testing and treatment. A civil arrest warrant issued in March remains in effect.
Judge Philip Sorenson issued the arrest warrant, which authorized law enforcement to detain the woman beginning March 3. If arrested, she would be taken to a facility at the Pierce County jail for isolation, testing and treatment.
“We have worked with family and community members for more than a year to do everything we can to persuade this woman to take her medication to protect herself and our community,” a statement from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department released in March reads.
According to court documents, an officer with the Pierce County Corrections Bureau surveilled the woman’s home in March. The officer saw the woman leave on a city bus, which dropped her off at a casino. Since then, the woman appeared not to be home. Additionally, her family members were unresponsive when the officer reached out.
“It is believed that the [woman] is actively avoiding execution of the warrant,” Pierce County Corrections Bureau Chief Patricia Jackson wrote in a court declaration dated April 3.
The officer was told to stop surveillance “until a later date.”
This case is the third in 20 years where the health department has sought a court order to detain someone who is potentially contagious and refusing to seek treatment for tuberculosis.
“In each case like this, we are constantly balancing risk to the public and the civil liberties of the patient,” the March statement from the health department reads. “We are always hopeful a patient will choose to comply voluntarily. Seeking to enforce a court order through a civil arrest warrant is always our last resort.”
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department sees about 20 cases of active tuberculosis a year. State law requires healthcare providers to report all active cases.
Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that often affect the lungs. It is spread through the air. Symptoms, according to the World Health Organization, include cough, fever, night sweats and weight loss.
