KEY WEST, Fla. – Key West police arrested a federal law enforcement officer Wednesday morning after he stalked and then “forcefully” pushed his ex-girlfriend, according to an arrest report.
Scott Dale Hatfield, 38, listed in the report as a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer based on the island, was jailed on charges of misdemeanor battery and stalking.
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According to the Key West Police Department, officers responded to the Winn-Dixie at 2778 N. Roosevelt Blvd. after receiving reports of a disturbance.
The woman, who had moved out of Hatfield’s home on Saturday, told police that Hatfield approached her in a gym located in the same shopping plaza, then followed her as she walked away to her car, the report states.
According to police, after she got into the car, Hatfield held the door open “and did not allow her to leave.”
The report states she “tried to get out of the car and Hatfield shoved her into the car twice.” Hatfield only stopped, police said, after a nearby construction crew started yelling at Hatfield and he walked away.
Police said the woman walked towards Winn-Dixie and called 911. The woman’s shoulders were “reddish,” the investigating officer wrote, “indicative of being pushed forcefully.”
Police said Hatfield admitted to following his ex to her car and said he placed his hand in the car door to prevent the woman from shutting it. He told officers that he put his arms out preventatively after the woman said she would “kick him in the nuts,” the report states.
“Hatfield stated that he did commit a battery on (the woman),” the investigating officer wrote.
Hatfield’s ex-girlfriend later showed officers screenshots showing that he had called her 11 times on Monday and showed officers a string of text messages sent after the woman told him to stop texting her or she would call the police.
The woman said she “feared Hatfield because he showed up to her house unannounced in his CBP uniform trying to get her to speak with him,” police wrote in the report, saying the woman had to “repeatedly” ask him to leave.
A CBP spokesperson responded to Hatfield’s arrest Thursday.
“A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer assigned to the Miami and Tampa Field Office was arrested while off duty by Key West Police Department on May 31,” the agency’s statement said in part. “The officer has been placed on administrative duties pending the outcome of the investigation.”
The spokesperson added: “CBP stresses honor and integrity in every aspect of our mission, and the overwhelming majority of CBP employees and officers perform their duties with honor and distinction, working tirelessly every day to keep our country safe.”
Hatfield is set to be arraigned in Monroe County court on June 7, according to jail records.