Woman spits on deputy twice during arrest in Brooksville, Florida, United States.
NEWS:
A 33-year-old woman spat in a Hernando County deputy’s face twice during a combative arrest in Brooksville, Florida, after deputies responded to separate disturbances at a gas station and a nearby mobile home park. Body camera footage records both instances of spitting and the deputy’s open-handed strike to the woman’s face after the second one.
The incident began at approximately 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at a Texaco gas station on Ponce De Leon Boulevard. Employees told deputies that Iesha Field had been yelling at customers, behaving erratically and interfering with the business. At the employees’ request, deputies issued her a trespass warning requiring her to leave the property.
Field walked from the gas station to a nearby mobile home park on West Jefferson Street. Authorities said her disruptive behavior continued there. She was wearing only underwear, yelling and acting belligerently while residents were nearby. Deputies reported that the disturbance involved a mother with young children, who also asked that Field be removed from her property.
Deputies said Field appeared to be under the influence of alcohol, narcotics or both. No specific substance had been confirmed in the information released after the arrest. Authorities also noted that she had pre-existing injuries to her right knee and left eye. Deputies instructed her to return to her residence, but said she refused their commands and became increasingly combative.
The footage published after the arrest shows several deputies trying to control Field near a patrol vehicle. She moves her arms and legs while officers attempt to place her inside, and the video records her trying to hit and kick them. The visible resistance continues as deputies work to seat and secure her in the rear of the vehicle.
After Field was placed inside, deputies said she repeatedly struck the window with her head and feet. The body camera video shows an officer open a rear door and Field fall out of the vehicle. Deputy M. LaPalme then assists her back toward the seat while other deputies remain nearby.
As LaPalme positions Field inside the vehicle, the footage clearly records her turning toward him and spitting onto the left side of his face. He continues trying to secure her. While he is fastening her into the seat, she spits directly into his face a second time.
LaPalme immediately delivers an open-handed palm strike to Field’s face. The video records the strike, his reaction to being spat on and the continued effort to secure her in the patrol vehicle. The agency said the strike was intended to stop her from spitting again. Multiple body-worn cameras and an in-car camera captured the encounter.
The strike is undergoing an internal review. No published result of that review was available by June 12. The review concerns the deputy’s use of force, while the video independently documents Field spitting on him twice. No public information reviewed for this report indicated that LaPalme had been disciplined, cleared or charged.
Deputies reported that Field continued resisting, kicking and trying to damage the patrol vehicle during transport. Officers used additional restraints and placed a spit hood over her head. She was taken to the Hernando County Detention Center, where jail personnel assisted deputies because authorities said her aggressive behavior continued during the booking process.
Field was booked on two counts listed in the arrest information: felony battery on a law enforcement officer and breach of the peace, also described as disorderly intoxication. Her total bond was set at $3,000, with $2,500 connected to the law enforcement battery allegation and $500 connected to the disorderly conduct allegation.
The felony charge is based on the alleged battery against the deputy. The physical act underlying that charge is visible in the body camera footage, which shows the two instances of spitting. The filing of a charge is not a conviction, and the available booking information does not establish the final outcome of the criminal case.
Although authorities described Field removing her clothes, resisting deputies and trying to damage the patrol vehicle, the publicly listed charges reviewed after the arrest were limited to battery on a law enforcement officer and disorderly conduct or breach of the peace. No separate exposure, resisting arrest or criminal damage count appeared in the published booking information. The first removal from the Texaco was handled through a trespass warning, and the later request at the mobile home park preceded the decision to take her into custody.
Authorities had not identified what caused Field’s initial behavior at the gas station, whether alcohol, narcotics or another factor was involved, or why the disturbances began. The released information also did not establish that she injured the deputy beyond the contact caused by the spit.
News story written by Tifa Winters.
