Florida police officer accused of kidnapping pregnant girlfriend in Keys hotel room
An off-duty police officer from Auburndale, Florida, was arrested in the Keys Wednesday morning on aggravated battery and kidnapping charges.
He is accused of attacking his pregnant girlfriend and refusing to let her leave the Cheeca Lodge hotel room where they were vacationing.
Officer Dane Alexander Henwood is being held in Plantation Key jail, with no bond information immediately available. The sheriff’s office did not provide his age on the arrest report.
His girlfriend, who FLKeysNews/Miami Herald is not naming because she is an alleged domestic abuse victim, told Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies that she and Henwood argued late Tuesday night because she was angry he was drunk.
They were lying in bed when he rolled on top of her, placing pressure on her pregnant torso, she told deputies, according to the arrest report. She said he then grabbed both of her arms.
During the argument, before it became physical, she said Henwood placed his gun on the bedside table, “but only because he heard someone at the ice machine outside,” Deputy Anfernee Hernandez wrote in his report.
The woman told deputies that when Henwood drinks, he becomes controlling with her, “usually grabbing her in such a manner that it makes it difficult for her to move or get away,” Rodriguez wrote.
The woman said Henwood fell asleep, and she began gathering her belongings to leave. She went to the bathroom, and when she got out, Henwood was awake and had her car keys in his pocket, according to the report.
The woman then called 911. The emergency operator who took the call could hear a man in the background telling the woman “do not do that the police are going to come,” according to the report.
Deputies arrived at the Islamorada hotel around 12:30 a.m.
Henwood told Rodriguez that he did not touch the woman or prevent her from leaving.
Rodriguez said Henwood appeared intoxicated. There was a “huge” empty bottle of alcohol in the trash can and another nearly empty bottle on the table, according to the report. Deputies found a loaded Taurus semi-automatic pistol, which was legally registered to Henwood, inside a duffel bag, according to the report.
Chief Andy Ray of the Auburndale Police Department said in an email Wednesday afternoon that Henwood “has been summarily relieved of duty pending the outcome of an administrative investigation by this department.”
“We received a copy of the offense report and we have reviewed it,” Ray said.
Auburndale is in Polk County.
According to the department’s Facebook page, Henwood was sworn in as an officer in May 2019.
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 12:21 PM.
