Margaret Sullivan, a mother with a restraining order barring contact with her children, found herself at the center of a controversial arrest.
Despite no finding of abuse or neglect, Sullivan lost custody of her children to her ex husband Randall Hale of Hamden. Her ex-husband has had custody of the children since 2019.
CT Family Court has been criticized for allowing parents with money to buy exclusive custody.
On March 1, she texted her ex-husband while in the hospital because of a heart attack and waiting for surgery, asking to speak to her children.
Sullivan later said she was worried she might die and wanted to hear the voices of the children she brought into the world one last time.
Two weeks later, when it appeared Sullivan would live, Hale filed a criminal complaint, claiming he was a victim of contact from his ex-wife in violation of Judge Adelman’s no contact order.
CT Judge Neeta Vatti issued a warrant for Sullivan’s arrest.
On April 4, after Sullivan’s release from the hospital, CT State Troopers from F-Troop, led by LT. Alex Cintron and Trooper Julia Bickford, and local police – five armed officers – arrested the mother at her home.
At the scene of the arrest, Sullivan requested her heart medication. The troopers accused her of faking the symptoms of a heart attack, handcuffed her and took her into custody.
The police eventually allowed her to take her medication, but as her condition worsened, Sullivan was taken to the hospital, where she was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit.
Sullivan was handcuffed to her bed in the ICU, and a trooper guarded the door.
She had had another heart attack, and as doctors and nurses treated her, and determined she needed another medical procedure, she remained handcuffed to the bed for hours.
As evening approached and overtime was not authorized, the troopers suddenly decided to fingerprint her in the hospital and release her – though she remained in ICU.
Margaret Sullivan in hospital faces jail time for texting her children
Initially, they claimed she would face a $20,000 bond and immediate jail time upon release from the hospital.
The officers refused to provide Margaret with an arrest warrant.
Police told Sullivan she was scheduled to appear in court the day after her hospital release.
At that time, Judge Adelman or one of his interchangeable judicial colleagues will decide if the woman who had a heart attack and texted her husband to see her children – perhaps for the last time – should go to jail.
She is scheduled to appear today in Middletown for arraignment.
Margaret Sullivan’s wrist is bruised from being handcuffed to her hospital bed.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Margaret to raise money for her bail and legal defense.
