Florida man arrested after spraying woman with garden hose: deputies

Aug 06, 2023

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FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. - A Florida man was arrested after allegedly spraying a woman with a garden hose amid an argument about being on his property, according to deputies.

Jeffrey Rutfield was arrested on a charge of simple battery and was later released from Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.

The incident happened Friday night at a home on Treetop Circle. Flagler County deputies were called to a home after a woman reported an unknown woman had pointed a gun at her husband. The husband, identified as Rutfield, reportedly escalated the incident by spraying a garden hose in a woman's face after yelling at her for allegedly being on his property line, deputies said.

The Palm Coast man allegedly followed her as she walked back to her car, yelling at her. She said she was in fear of being attacked, so she "displayed a firearm for her safety," deputies said. That's when Rutfield went back inside his house. Meanwhile, the woman stayed outside in her car waiting for deputies to arrive.

Deputies determined the woman was not on Rutfield's property and he followed her to her car in "an aggressive manner," officials said.

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"A busy weekend for Flagler deputies," Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement. "If you spray someone in the face with a garden hose, you’re only escalating the situation. It is much better to deescalate and call us to mediate the dispute."

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