Tacoma woman with TB continues to defy court orders. Will she ever be arrested?

A Tacoma woman that the local health department has sought medical compliance from for more than a year for untreated tuberculosis remains at large in the general population, according to new court filings.

A Pierce County Superior Court order in April reinforced an earlier order of contempt and order for involuntary detention.

The woman, listed in court documents as V.N., has not cooperated with officials, according to new court filings entered into the Pierce County Superior Court record Wednesday (May 10).

The April order, issued by Pierce County Superior Court Judge Philip K. Sorensen, stated, “Unless respondent is in custody, she shall remain quarantined in isolation at the address listed on the confidential schedule on file … for a period not to exceed 45 days beginning on April 7 at 5:00 p.m. through May 22 at 5 p.m. or until such time as the Civil Warrant for Arrest is executed.”

A supplemental petition filed Wednesday by representatives for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department stated, similar to previous petitions, “The local health officer for the TPCHD has determined, or has reason to believe, that the respondent continues to be infected with tuberculosis, which is a deadly infectious disease that could spread to, infect, and jeopardize the lives of others if respondent is not detained for testing and treatment for a period not to exceed 45 days.”

It added, “Denise Stinson, R.N., has determined that V.N. has not remained in her residence in accord with the court’s orders, nor has she treated or tested to determine the status of her tuberculosis infection.”

Stinson has served as the designated local health officer for Health Department director Dr. Anthony Chen throughout the case.

Another court filing posted Wednesday came from Erin Hahn, legal assistant to Lori Bemis, TPCHD’s attorney in the case.

According to Hahn, a person “who claimed to be V.N.’s son” called Bemis’ office on May 1 to check whether V.N. “had missed a hearing in this matter and when the next hearing will be held.”

According to the filing, Hahn told the caller that “all of the pertinent information regarding the next hearing was mailed to V.N. in both English and Vietnamese, and that V.N. should speak with (her attorney) regarding the hearing. He looked at the paperwork and indicated that he did see the hearing date provided. He then asked when ‘the attorney’ would be in the office to speak to him.”

Hahn explained he’d called TPCHD’s attorney’s office, instead of V.N.’s attorney. After the call she provided V.N.’s attorney with the son’s number to call back.

Eight pages of reports on the case filed the same day as the TPCHD petition and Hahn’s declaration were sealed as confidential.

Deputy Carly Cappetto, a media representative for Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, referred The News Tribune to TPCHD for further updates or future plans regarding the civil order.

“As of right now, Pierce County has no updates from what was last attempted by the Tacoma Health Department Civil order to have a warrant for her arrest,” Cappetto wrote.

On Thursday, TPCHD media representative Kenny Via told The News Tribune via email in response to questions, “Law enforcement has the civil arrest warrant that authorizes them to detain the patient who is still refusing treatment.”

As for publicly identifying the person, Via wrote, “We constantly balance the protection of personal health information with risk to the community. In this case, the court ordered the patient’s identity sealed.”

He added, “TB is not typically acquired through casual contact. We will continue to support law enforcement as they work to safely detain this patient.”

According to the Washington state Department of Health, on average, 4 cases of TB are diagnosed in the state each week.

Via said locally, “We usually see about 20-25 cases per year in Pierce County. In 2022, we responded to 27 cases.”

Those with active cases can transmit the disease through coughs or sneezing, according to state DOH. Treatment includes multiple months of medication for both active and latent-detected disease.

Officials have sought compliance from the Tacoma woman since mid-January 2022, after she was initially diagnosed and started but did not follow through with prescribed medical treatment.

The issue first came to light after The News Tribune discovered the court case following the health department’s public announcement about the case in January 2023.

Court records in early 2023 noted that the woman was a passenger in a car involved in a wreck. The day after the crash, she went to an Emergency Department complaining of chest pains. X-rays taken during the visit “demonstrate that she does have tuberculosis and it is progressing,” the Jan. 11 petition stated.

She also tested positive for COVID-19.

Since then, the woman has continued to defy court orders, according to the filings, and court records list that she was not in attendance at the court hearing in April.

The case was in the spotlight again last month not only for the woman’s continued noncompliance but also for a report filed in the court docket stating that law enforcement surveillance observed her boarding a city bus and arriving at a casino.

At this point, nearly 20 separate court orders have been issued over noncompliance, including multiple orders of contempt.

The next hearing is May 19.

The News Tribune archives contributed to this report.