A Milwaukee woman’s mental health episode turned into a legal ordeal that exposed flaws in how police, hospitals, and the courts handle mental health crises, according to her account and medical records. Ash Peck, 31, had worked as a 911 operator for the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) before a single gummy containing THCA-A triggered a mental health crisis that led to her arrest, hospitalization, and eventual release without charges.

From Pain Relief to Psychotic Episode

Peck purchased a THCA-A gummy from a local head shop in October 2023 to manage chronic pain from arthritis in both ankles. After taking half the gummy, she experienced adverse effects almost immediately. ‘I started spiraling,’ Peck recalls. ‘I had arthritis in both of my ankles, and before this, I had gone to numerous doctors for help, and there was nothing they would do for me.’

She began experiencing delusions and hallucinations, convinced she had overdosed and passed out. After administering Narcan to herself, she awoke believing the drug dripping from her nose was blood, which led her to believe she had been shot. In a state of panic, Peck called 911 from her Riverwest home and ran into the street.

When police arrived, Peck was trying to get them to take her to the hospital. ‘I was trying to get them to take me to the hospital,’ she says. ‘They saw I was not shot so they were trying to have a conversation with me, but I was in such a crisis and really thought I was dying.’

Hospital Encounter and Restraints

Peck was taken to Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital on Milwaukee’s east side. According to the ambulance report, she was ‘not answering questions appropriately’ and had said she was ‘sleepwalking.’ The report also describes her exhibiting ‘acute confusion’ and ‘strange, inexplicable behavior.’

The police report details Peck being restrained by officers in the emergency room, which is when she bit one of them. After being put in physical restraints on a gurney, Peck was considered to be in critical condition in the ER on account of tachycardia (abnormally high heart rate). She was given the medications Haldol and Versed to calm down.

Bodycam footage shows a hospital nurse berating Peck while police officers were in the room, telling Peck that other patients in the emergency room were dealing with ‘real problems’ but that Peck was ’embarrassing herself.’ As Peck spoke nonsensically and struggled in her bed restraints, the nurse reprimanded Peck for ‘not acting 30’ and that she was ‘doing it for attention.’

The footage also shows Peck saying that she was hearing voices. At one point, the nurse tells Peck she could hear the voices too and that they were telling her to ‘stop.’ The nurse proceeds to taunt Peck and tell her that she would be getting arrested.

Legal Consequences and Jail Experience

Peck woke up the next morning, slightly more lucid, to a detective in her room informing her that she was suspended from her job without pay, charged with a felony for assaulting a police officer (referring to the bite), and that she must report to Internal Affairs to be interviewed. ‘I was so confused and had no idea I had bit anyone,’ Peck says. ‘When they told me that, I cried and apologized, and I said I was so sorry and asked if they were OK.’

The police report alleged that Peck had ‘intentionally caused bodily harm’ to a police officer. Medical and ambulance reports, on the other hand, list Peck’s diagnoses with psychosis, agitation, cannabis poisoning and tachycardia, as well as that she had expressed fears of ‘this being her new reality, being drugged, and being launched into space.’

Further details about city emergency protocols raise questions about the department’s handling of Peck’s situation. Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management (MC OEM) policy states that paramedics are required to stay on a call if a patient has tachycardia, which the ambulance report from October 23 confirms. Additional MC OEM policy (p. 44) indicates that Peck should have been chemically restrained via ketamine but had not been. The police report did not match the bodycam footage, writing that Peck was ‘walking around the emergency room causing a disturbance’ rather than being someone experiencing psychosis.

Additionally, although Peck’s situation was a mental health crisis, a Crisis Assessment Response Team (CART), trained and equipped to de-escalate mental health crises, had not been deployed. The particular cop whom Peck had bit was certified in crisis intervention, but Peck ponders whether such training was adequate or sufficient. ‘It makes me wonder what that even means,’ she remarks.

Columbia St. Mary’s discharged Peck into police custody. Peck says she never saw a psychiatrist or received mental health evaluation before being discharged, despite not being entirely out of psychosis. ‘They only let me go because my heart rate was back to normal. I was a bit more connected by that point…but I still thought I was shot dead, bleeding out somewhere, in and out of reality.’

Peck was given a paper jumpsuit to change into and taken to District 5 for interrogation. After answering questions from detectives about the events of the previous night, Peck was informed that MPD would proceed with the charges and that she would be going to Milwaukee County Jail (MCJ). Prior to this incident, Peck had no criminal record. Naturally, she was terrified about going to jail, plus she had pets at home to take care of. ‘I sat shackled to a bench for hours. I still had psychosis and felt like I was in limbo. There was no clock and I had no concept of time.’

After finally being booked, Peck saw a nurse, which ended up being the only time she spoke to a medical professional the entire time she was in jail. ‘I told them I take antidepressants, but she said they don’t give those here. She also said I would be seeing a social worker since it was my first time being arrested, who I never saw.’

Peck was taken to a cell, and at this point, she realized she had severe pain in her ribs, ostensibly from when she had been restrained. ‘It hurt to move or do anything. Every time I tried to fall asleep on this concrete bench, I would wake up thinking I was shot because I had that pain.’

She was eventually moved to another cell block, this time with a cellmate. In order to request medical attention, Peck describes being required to fill out a form that could only be accessed from the front desk during the day. Once she finally got that opportunity, however, Peck was told they were out of the forms.

A 2024 third-party audit of MCJ, following the deaths of six people in a 14-month period, pointed to a number of serious issues including overcrowding, improper suicide watch procedures and inadequate mental health resources. Peck asserts, ‘My experience with the DOC was so minute compared to what others experienced there. The fact that I requested medical assistance for my pain and wasn’t granted it just goes along with all the other people who have died in the DOC’s care. They have this cheap, privatized healthcare system that inmates can’t even use because they can’t fill out the slips to get it.’

After two and a half days in jail, Peck was told her charges were dropped and she was subsequently released. Her partner picked her up from jail. Peck returned to Columbia St. Mary’s to get x-rays done of her ribs, which confirmed they were cracked.