Brooksville arrest after gas station disturbance leads to deputy battery charge

A routine call about a disruptive customer at a Brooksville gas station turned into a force review after deputies said the woman they tried to detain fought in a patrol vehicle, spit on a deputy and kept escalating during transport. The encounter began at the Texaco Gas Station at 101 Ponce De Leon Boulevard, then spread to a nearby mobile home park on West Jefferson Street, drawing complaints from employees and residents before ending at the Hernando County Detention Center.

Deputies responded about 2 p.m. June 9 to the gas station after employees said Iesha Field, 34, was yelling at customers, behaving erratically and disrupting business. The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said employees asked that Field be trespassed from the property, and deputies issued a trespass warning before the situation moved a short distance away to the mobile home park.

At the West Jefferson Street park, the sheriff’s office said Field removed her clothing and was only wearing underwear. Residents then asked deputies to trespass her from that property as well, including a mother with young children, turning the episode from a business complaint into a wider neighborhood disturbance. Deputies said Field appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and/or narcotics and noted previous injuries to her right knee and left eye as they tried to de-escalate the situation and direct her back to her residence.

The arrest grew more volatile once Field was taken into custody. According to the sheriff’s office, she repeatedly hit and kicked deputies, banged her head and feet against the patrol vehicle window and continued trying to damage the vehicle during transport. Deputy M. LaPalme was spit on twice, the release said, and responded with an open-handed palm strike while securing Field in the patrol vehicle. The sheriff’s office said body-camera footage and in-car video captured the encounter, and LaPalme’s actions are now under review.

Deputies then used additional restraints and a spit hood before transporting Field to the Hernando County Detention Center, where detention staff helped secure her because of her continued aggressive behavior. The case underscores how quickly a disturbance call can become both a public-safety problem and an accountability issue, especially when a suspect resists arrest in a crowded area with businesses, families and nearby homes. It also lands in a county where the sheriff’s office says it serves 218,150 residents, including Brooksville, as Hernando County continues to grow.