Brooke Shields: Reporters Took My Mother From Her Nursing Home

Entertainment Tonight, Friday, May 15, 2009, 7:13pm (PDT)

Entertainment Tonight.

Brooke Shields tells People.com that two tabloid reporters checked her mother out of a nursing home in Old Tappan, New Jersey on Thursday.

Police tell the Web site that 75-year-old Teri Shields, who is afflicted with dementia, was later discovered talking with a reporter in a restaurant located next to the assisted living center.

"She wasn't harmed in any way shape or form. She was fine," Old Tappan Police Department Capt. Thomas Shine tells People.com. "The officers discussed the circumstances with her. And she literally walked with one of my officers next door to the assisted living center."

Brooke says Old Tappan police told her that her mother had been checked out of the nursing home by two reporters claiming to be Teri's friends. Shine tells the Web site, "It was more along the lines that [Teri] had been allowed to leave, based upon [the nursing home's] protocol or policy."

Booke tells the site that the reporters "then drove my 75-year-old mother around looking for a tabloid story." She continues, "As anyone knows who has a parent who suffers from dementia or Alzheimer's, it is one of the most difficult experiences you can go through as a son or daughter. …"

"I intend to take every lawful action against all who were involved or who authorized this despicable act," the actress adds. "My mother Teri Shields has been diagnosed with dementia. For her safety, she has temporarily been in a senior living facility, a very difficult decision for me."

An officer from the Old Tappan Police Department tells ET the incident is still under investigation.