A Cary police officer was arrested in Florida and has since resigned after a report says he slammed an apparently random woman to the ground and then stomped on her face, causing her to lose consciousness.
The incident happened just after 2 a.m. on March 1 at Gateway Live, which is a bar in Sarasota, Florida, according to a police incident report recently obtained by Lake and McHenry County Scanner.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene for a call of a battery and found a female victim who reported that a shirtless white male slammed her on the ground and kicked her.
She pointed out the suspect, later identified as Jeremy T. Dutton, 30, of Woodstock, the report said. Dutton was employed as a police officer with the Cary Police Department at the time.
Dutton was walking away from the scene north through the parking lot towards Mall Drive.
The victim said that Dutton was in an argument with multiple patrons and staff in front of Gateway Live, the report said.
She asked what was going on and Dutton started to yell at her. She told deputies that she tried to walk away from Dutton but he followed her and wrapped his arm around her neck, the report said.
The victim reported that Dutton pulled her down onto the ground and her head struck a concrete parking block.
Dutton got back up and used his foot to stomp twice on the right side of her face, the report said.
She lost consciousness for a short period of time after being stomped and had pain in her jaw and felt like her teeth were loose.
The victim also suffered scrapes to the left side of her face and chin, a scrape on her left elbow and a scrape on her right hand, the report said.
A deputy approached Dutton and made contact with him in the parking lot. He was reportedly visibly intoxicated and had blood on his face.
Dutton was told to sit down on the ground and he initially complied but kept asking why he needed to sit and tried standing up, the report said.
The deputy told him to sit on the ground and he listened again but then tried standing up again.
The report said the deputy grabbed Dutton by the right arm and he continued to stand and tried to walk away while attempting to pull his arm from the deputy’s grasp.
Two bystanders who were witnessing the incident helped the deputy physically subdue Dutton by taking him to the ground and placing him into handcuffs, at which time additional deputies arrived.
A witness who saw the attack involving the woman and Dutton told deputies that Dutton grabbed the victim and slammed her down on the ground, causing her head to hit the ground, the report said.
The witness said he then saw Dutton kick the victim in her face twice before bystanders intervened and physically pulled Dutton away by punching and kicking him until he stopped the attack.
The victim was transported to the hospital by ambulance and doctors reported she possibly suffered a broken jaw but further imaging was needed to determine the extent of her injuries, the report said.
Dutton declined transport to the hospital and was transported to the sheriff’s office where he was uncooperative with deputies and did not make any statements, the report said.
He was charged with felony battery and resisting arrest. His arrest report noted he was a detective with the Cary Police Department.
The Cary Police Department told Lake and McHenry County Scanner this week that they were “immediately” made aware of the arrest after it occurred.
Dutton was placed on paid, administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
Dutton resigned from the department prior to the completion of the internal investigation, police officials said.
His final day of employment with the village was April 9. His last actual day worked was on February 26, which was shortly before the incident occurred.
Dutton’s court case remains active and is set for a pre-trial hearing on August 20.