LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB/WAVE) — A woman was arrested Wednesday near the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport after staff there found her 11-year-old son wandering near the terminal.
According to an arrest citation from the Louisville Airport Police Department, Nicolette Denise Jarrett, 44, of Caledonia, Michigan, was arrested after an airport employee spotted the child in a grassy area outside the terminal around 9:15 a.m. The child told responding officers his mother dropped him off at the airport that morning. According to the citation, the boy said he fled their home because his mother claimed his father was trying to kill them. Police haven't verified those allegations.
He then led officers to the vehicle where his mother had left him, noting that Jarrett also had a second child that was non-verbal with her. Police said the vehicle, registered to Jarrett, was inoperable.
According to the citation, police located Jarrett about 1 mile way. Police said Jarrett resisted arrested when approached by airport officers as well as backup from the Louisville Metro Police Department. Police said Jarrett held the second child in front of her, creating what officers described as a substantial risk to his safety. She reportedly tried to run from officers before being taken into custody.
Following her arrest, Jarrett said officers assaulted her and that she was experiencing a mental health crisis and requested medical attention. And then when transported to UofL Hospital, Jarrett reportedly became combative with hospital staff, kicked a wheelchair, lunged at staff members and attempted to bite them.
She was charged with abandonment of a minor, wanton endangerment, resisting arrest, attempted assault of a healthcare provider and indecent exposure.
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