A 24-year-old Florida woman was arrested following a shocking domestic disturbance that unfolded in full public view, ending with attacks on her husband, a firefighter, and deputies, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities said Laylani Sullivan faces several felony charges including domestic violence battery by strangulation, battery on a firefighter, and resisting an officer with and without violence.
Deputies responded to a 911 call early on October 15 at a home on Cypress Trails Drive in Polk City, about 40 miles southwest of Orlando. When officers arrived, Sullivan’s husband alleged that his wife had become “very intoxicated and started screaming cursing at him” before the situation turned violent.
According to the criminal complaint, Sullivan allegedly strangled her husband by pressing her hands around his neck until “he could not breathe.”
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd later described the incident in a Facebook video that quickly drew attention online.
“You might ask, ‘How drunk did she get?’ Oh brother, she got rip-roaring drunk. Took off every bit of her clothes. When we found her she was in the front yard of the house after biting and slapping around her husband who dialed 911. So, we tried to arrest her. And she didn’t like that at all,” Judd said.
When deputies and emergency responders arrived, efforts to calm Sullivan failed. The sheriff’s affidavit stated that she “became very angry and aggressive,” pulling away from officers and refusing commands while lying unclothed in a ditch.
A female deputy and firefighter tried to help her get dressed, but Sullivan allegedly struck the firefighter “by means of striking [her] in the chest.”
Judd concluded his remarks with a pointed warning about excessive drinking: “How much do you have to drink – alcohol that is – to rip off all your clothes, slap your husband around, bite him, and then lay down in the front yard? I can’t answer that. But Laylani can.”
Sullivan remains in custody at the Polk County Jail on a $16,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court for her arraignment on November 18.
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