I called the police 512 times in one day

Police in Florida (USA) have arrested a woman after accusing her of calling the police more than 11,000 times this year, including 512 times in a single day in July.

Carla Michael Jefferson, 5, of St. Petersburg, was arrested Monday and charged with a misdemeanor charge of making phone calls, according to online reservation records at the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Records said the St. Petersburg police emergency call center received 512 calls from the woman from 4:30 p.m. EDT on July 2 until 4:30 p.m. the following day.

The police department's affidavit, according to WSTV, said Jefferson was "constantly calling, harassing, belittling (the police), swearing, arguing, and asking officers to come and arrest her."

Jefferson was released on bail after she was arrested on June 30 for making excessive phone calls to the St. Petersburg Police Department's emergency line, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

In the arrest affidavit, the police wrote that the first arrest came after Jefferson made calls "more than 11,000 times" during 2022.

Police said the woman's calls made up 10% of the department's call volume on the non-emergency line, the New York Times reported.

The affidavit states that when the officers went to her house, Jefferson refused to open the door, but yelled at them, pointing the middle finger out the window.

Saint Petersburg police spokeswoman Yolanda Fernandez said the agency tried several tactics to persuade Jefferson to stop calling before deciding to arrest her, the newspaper reported.

Police initially sent a mental health team to try to help the woman, but that did not end the calls.

When verbal warnings and a cease and desist letter failed, Jefferson was arrested.

Jefferson was booked into the Pinellas County Jail and released Tuesday afternoon at her own discretion, online records show.

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