An Ocala woman was charged with fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement and resisting an officer without violence last week after leading Ocala Police officers on a slow-speed chase.
An officer tried to initiate a traffic stop last Wednesday after observing a 2011 silver Hyundai Sonata driven by Rhiana Rodgers, 27, allegedly run a stop sign at the intersection of SW Martin Luther King Avenue and SW 11th Avenue. Rodgers refused to stop and turned south onto SW 11th Avenue, where she continued at a very slow speed. The officer first chirped his siren and then engaged it as Rodgers turned onto SW 5th Street and pulled into an open carport at 1010 SW 5th St., according to the police report.
Rodgers honked her horn repeatedly after pulling into the carport, where she lives with her mother. The officer approached the vehicle with a pistol drawn and ordered Rodgers to get out five times, which she refused to do. Two officers had to remove Rodgers from the vehicle, and she continued to passively resist by flexing her arms and not placing her hands behind her back as instructed. Rodgers was finally secured in handcuffs and placed in the back of a patrol car, according to the report.
The officer later confirmed with dispatch that Rodgers had called 911 during the chase and was told by dispatch to stop her vehicle. A recording of the phone call was requested as evidence. Rodgers provided no explanation for her actions other than that she was scared and had her baby with her in the vehicle, according to the report.
Rodgers was taken to the Marion County Jail, where she was released on $3,000 bond. No court date has been set.