Refusing to Perform CPR Is Not a Crime

Elderly woman died at senior facility because company policy did not permit providing assistance

No crime was committed at a senior living facility where a staff member refused to perform CPR on an elderly woman who later died, Bakersfield police concluded.

The investigation would appear to close the books on the case, which has generated national attention.

The Bakersfield Police Department said it will not be pursuing any criminal charges pertaining to the case.

Police began their probe Monday into Glenwood Gardens, where a woman who identified herself as a nurse refused to administer CPR to a woman as directed by a fire dispatcher. Police were trying to "determine if there were any criminal violations … pertaining to the death" of 87-year-old Lorraine Bayless on Feb. 26, the department said in a statement.