BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A new video has now been released showing a Palm Bay officer bringing a pregnant woman to the ground during an arrest earlier this year.
According to investigators, the incident involved 38-year-old Tamara Hatcher, who was pulled over in June for driving without insurance.
However, an arrest report shows that she refused to get out of the car.
As such, Officer Sean Rollins used his baton to break her window, but Hatcher instead drove away, the report says.
Investigators also revealed that Hatcher had been speeding and driving on the wrong side of the road to pass other vehicles.
[BELOW: Watch more body-camera footage showing Hatcher’s arrest back in June]
Eventually, she pulled into her driveway, though she was ultimately caught as she fled inside the home, police explained. Hatcher now faces charges of resisting arrest and fleeing at high speed or with disregard for safety.
But since then, concerns over Rollins’ use of force during the arrest have been brought into the limelight.
During a city council meeting last week, former deputy chief Lance Fisher said that Rollins was seen on video “choking” and “striking” Hatcher.
In 2021, the Associated Press reported the officer was fired from the Columbia Police Department in South Carolina after using force on at least eight people within five months.
Then, in 2023, Rollins got in trouble working at the Mascotte Police Department.
A lawsuit filed in Lake County in April alleges Officer Rollins tasered a man while falsely accusing him of resisting arrest.
However, the police department told News 6 that a review of Rollins’ actions during the June arrest found his use of force justified.
“Allegations that Hatcher was choked are false,” a release by the police department reads. “Following an internal review, Officer Rollins was found to be in compliance with departmental policies and procedures.”
In addition, police corrected some of the other details regarding Rollins’ history, clarifying that he hadn’t actually been fired from the Columbia Police Department.
More body-camera footage of the incident was also released on Wednesday. That video can be found at the top of this story.