Former Rochester nursing assistant acquitted of assault charge

(ABC 6 News) – UPDATE: Karen Yevette Beckman, 49, was acquitted of a charge of 4th-degree assault of a vulnerable adult Thursday, Feb. 8.

Beckman’s Olmsted County jury trial began Feb. 5 and ended Feb. 8.

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(ABC 6 News) – A former Rochester nursing assistant faces a charge of 4th-degree assault of a vulnerable adult.

Earlier this year, Rochester police reported to an assisted living facility on 8th Street NW for a report of abuse of an elderly resident.

An employee at the facility told police that on April 24, she had been told the resident had a skin tear after an “incident” that evening.

On April 25, the employee said staff saw bruising in the shape of a hand on the elderly woman’s arm, and an internal investigation determined that Karen Yevette Beckman, 49, had restrained the woman while trying to care for her the night before, according to court documents.

Beckman, who now lists a Knoxville, Tennessee address, had told the front desk the woman had an injury, but had not provided any details.

According to court documents, police spoke to the alleged victim’s daughter later in April, as she had taken pictures of the injury April 25.

The daughter told police the alleged victim would not be able to remember how she received the injury — and indeed, she could not give police any information about the incident, according to court documents.

In May, Rochester police spoke to Beckman over the phone, according to court documents.

According to court documents, Beckman said no one had told her the alleged victim was a “sundowner,” or a person with dementia who may become confused or agitated late in the day.

Beckman said on April 24, the elderly woman had tried to push herself away from her dinner table, then looked like she may throw a glass dish of peaches, so Beckman said she had restrained her by holding her left arm and wrist, according to court documents.

According to Beckman, the alleged victim was “combative” as she and another CNA tried to transfer her into her bed, so Beckman pulled her backward in her wheelchair, and instead of using a stand aid as directed, the two nursing assistants used a “two-arm lift,” according to court documents.

Beckman told police that the elderly woman was so upset that she caused a skin tear to her own arm, but said she had held the woman’s arms, causing some bruising, according to court documents.

Another staff member told police Beckman had spoken to her on the evening of April 24, and said the woman received the skin tear as the two transferred the woman to bed.

Beckman is scheduled to appear for another Olmsted County hearing Dec. 21.