Video: 93-year-old forcibly evicted by police

EUSTIS (FOX 13) - Eustis police say they were forced to physically evict a 93-year-old woman from her home after she refused to leave – or pay rent.

Body camera video shows the dramatic scene, with the apparently frail woman screeching as she’s wheeled away from her home and placed in a police cruiser.

But police say it didn’t have to come to this.

Juanita Fizgerald was evicted from her home after failing to pay rent. She was asked to move out multiple times, but police say she refused.

That’s when the landlord called officers to evict her.

Officers said when they arrived, their only option was to arrest Fizgerald.

"We told her she couldn't stay there, so that's when we had to take action," explained Sr. Offc. Jim Franquiz of the Eustis Police Department. "It's sad when you have to arrest someone of that age, especially close to the holidays."

Police say they arrested her as delicately as possible, even avoiding handcuffs as they took her from her walker to a car.

She spent about two days in the lake county jail before finally being released to a caregiver.