Escambia Code Enforcement Officer Threatens Woman, Holds Her Against Her Will, SRSO Says

February 13, 2021

An Escambia County Code Enforcement officer has been charged in Santa Rosa County for allegedly threatening a woman and holding her against her will in Milton.

Ethan Lee Brown is charged with simple assault and kidnapping false imprisonment.

The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office responded to a domestic disturbance and found Brown standing in the front yard, smelling of alcohol and with an empty gun holster on his hip, according to an arrest report. A woman told deputies Brown threw a mirror and nightstand, and punched a hole in a door, the report states.

The woman tells deputies she told Brown he frightened her and asked him to leave when he held her down on the bed with his body weight, the report says. When she tried to leave, Brown stood between her and the front door.

When deputies arrived, they found the damaged items and two firearms on the coffee table and couch. The report states Brown made choking motions close to the woman’s head like he was about to commit the act.

Under Florida law, Brown’s mugshot was not available due to his status as a code enforcement officer.

An Escambia County spokesperson said Brown has worked as a code enforcement officer with Escambia County since 2019.

Comments

20 Responses to “Escambia Code Enforcement Officer Threatens Woman, Holds Her Against Her Will, SRSO Says”

  1. Jr on February 16th, 2021 6:25 am

    I’m going to go ahead and say it…prayers for this young lady and I hope she doesn’t have prolonged physical pain due to the aggressive behavior of this person. Not knocking the rest of y’all but that mugshot isn’t as important as the condition of the victim. I agree that no one is above the law but their employment status SHOULD NOT matter in this…

  2. resident on February 15th, 2021 12:41 pm

    “Every one has the option to have their mugshot removed from public viewing”

    Not true in Florida.

  3. Humpty on February 15th, 2021 9:14 am

    Every one has the option to have their mugshot removed from public viewing. You have to request it and fill out a form. It’s automatically removed for law enforcement and has nothing to do with with other inmates.

  4. 429SCJ on February 15th, 2021 6:13 am

    I can understand the frustration with repeat code violators, but this is taking dedication to a far extreme.

  5. Elmer Fudd on February 15th, 2021 12:21 am

    Escambia county code enforcement officers wear tactical gear in the form of bullet resistant vest only. The are not licensed to carry fire arms on duty. They also wear radio’s with optional corded mics.

  6. Oh please on February 14th, 2021 10:16 pm

    Moral of the story: Don’t hang out with aggressive drunks!

  7. FusionBlack on February 14th, 2021 9:13 am

    Environmental Code Enforcement officers in Escambia county do in fact carry firearms. Code enforcement does not. One enforces your grass height and abandoned vehicles in your yard and the other just haresses you for building a deck on your own property.

  8. DK on February 13th, 2021 11:16 pm

    In escambia county code enforcement officer’s definitely carry firearms because I had one at my house the other day.

  9. William Lingo on February 13th, 2021 8:39 pm

    @nut Hill resident, Code enforcement most certainly does carry a gun and has power to arrest someone!!! You don’t know what you’re talking about.

  10. ROBERT on February 13th, 2021 6:45 pm

    No mugshot because if he goes to jail he will be a target…Oh well..that’s on him and his stupid actions….

  11. Stumpknocker on February 13th, 2021 2:57 pm

    @DBCooper no one saying anyone is above the law but you. The personal information and picture was in a confidential state prior to his arrest. This is done to protect them from people harassing them, coming to their home. Now once he stands trial and convicted like anyone else he looses that stays.

  12. Stumpknocker on February 13th, 2021 2:52 pm

    @Jerry, the time when they carried a gun ended during the Ronniemac days, they were relieved of the right to carry.

  13. Mike on February 13th, 2021 1:35 pm

    The article mentions he smelled of alcohol, quite possibly his consumption of liquid courage adds to the cause of the argument? Let’s see how this episode plays out?

  14. Darren W on February 13th, 2021 1:11 pm

    The article does not say he is a law enforcement officer. He is a code enforcement officer and not authorized by law to carry a firearm. As a matter of fact, the Florida AG issued a legal opinion upon request of Escambia County: “Accordingly, it is my opinion that a code enforcement officer is not authorized to carry a firearm within the scope of his or her employment nor participate in benefits extended to law enforcement officers under Florida law.”. A code enforcement officer does however benefit from the public record exemption whereas their personal information including photographs are not to be released per Florida law.

    https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ago.nsf/Opinions/A6230AFD98123ABB852579EB00748A9B
    https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/wc/employee/records.htm

  15. Jerry on February 13th, 2021 11:07 am

    Every time that I have seen a Escambia County Code Enforcement Officer they were wearing a gun. This one had an empty holster on his hip.

  16. Nut hill resident on February 13th, 2021 8:06 am

    Just an FYI – Environmental Code Enforcement is not a law enforcement officer like everyone is thinking. He might have a badge but he doesn’t carry a gun…and has no arresting capabilities. He is a citation writer. While I agree that what he did was wrong, he should not be in comparison with the real law enforcement. He should be held accountable for his actions.

  17. D.B. Cooper on February 13th, 2021 7:35 am

    Equal justice under the law, show the mans face. These people are not above the rest of us, show us his face!

  18. Bama89 on February 13th, 2021 7:31 am

    I guess we shouldn’t show his face to protect him because he is a “protector of the people”, right? Didn’t the story say he held a woman against her will by laying his body weight on her? Doesn’t sound like a protector to me, let’s see his ugly face!!

  19. Bama89 on February 13th, 2021 7:28 am

    “Brown’s mugshot was not available due to his status as a law enforcement officer.”
    Just a reminder that the law is always ABOVE the law!

  20. fisherman on February 13th, 2021 5:20 am

    Hope they throw the book at him.keep him in jail.