2023-07-13 18:56:00
KEY WEST, Fla. – A federal officer accused of beating his ex-girlfriend in Key West pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges Wednesday and was released from jail, his lawyer told Local 10 News.
Scott Dale Hatfield, 38, a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer, pleaded no contest to the simple assault and disorderly conduct charges, according to his attorney, Daniel Lewin. He was originally charged with assault and harassment.
Jury selection in the case was scheduled to begin Monday, according to court records.
Lewin issued a statement Thursday after the statement, noting that Hatfield was “released from custody after ordeal” and stating in part:
“Mr. Hatfield entered a plea of no contest for ‘simple assault’ and disorderly conduct because it was in his best interest to get out of jail where he likely placed some of its current residents. It was a security issue for him as a law enforcement officer. The ruling serves as proof that Mr. Hatfield is not a harasser violating court-ordered injunctions and therefore should not have been in jail in the first place. The harassment charge was dismissed and the second case in which he was arrested.
Daniel Lewin, Hatfield attorney
Hatfield was arrested by Key West officers May 31 after her ex told officers he followed her to a gym near Winn-Dixie at 2778 N. Roosevelt Blvd. and then held her car door open and he pushed her twice as she tried to get out, according to a police report.
Hatfield only stopped, police said, after a nearby construction crew began yelling at Hatfield and drove away.
Police said the woman walked toward Winn-Dixie and called 911. The woman’s shoulders were “reddish,” the investigating officer wrote, “indicative of having been forcefully pushed.”
Police said Hatfield admitted to following her ex to her car and said she placed her hand on the car door to stop the woman from locking it. He told officers that he held out his arms preemptively after the woman said she would “kick” him, according to the report.
“Hatfield stated that he committed an assault against (the woman),” the investigating officer wrote.
The report stated that Hatfield’s ex-girlfriend then showed officers screenshots showing he had called her 11 times on Monday and showed officers a series of text messages sent after the woman told him to stop. text him or call the police.
The woman said she “feared Hatfield because he showed up at her house unannounced in his CBP uniform trying to get her to talk to him,” police wrote in the report, saying the woman had to “repeatedly” ask him to leave. out.
Hatfield was arrested twice more, once on June 6 after authorities charged him with violating a protective order and again on June 8 on a failure to appear charge, after which a Monroe County judge revoked your bail.
CBP officials said Hatfield had been placed on “administrative duty” after his first arrest. A spokesperson said the agency did not have an update on his current status.
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