A 27-year-old Ocala Police Department officer was arrested on Wednesday after he was accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend and threatening to use a rifle to “shoot up” her residence.
On July 31, 2023, the Ocala Police Department notified the Marion County Sheriff’s Office that an OPD officer, identified as Natawi Nikquan Chin, had sent an audio voice-recorded message to his former girlfriend that involved threats to “shoot up her residence,” according to the arrest report.
An MCSO sergeant made contact with the female victim who advised that she had met Chin through mutual friends in or around February 2022. The report stated that they began exchanging text messages, and they later started dating. The victim stated that they continued to date for around a year until they broke up in March or April 2023.
The victim told the sergeant that Chin has been “verbally aggressive,” and he believed that she had “cheated on him,” according to the MCSO report.
The victim stated that Chin drove by her home a couple of times and began noticing another vehicle at the residence. At one point, Chin allegedly parked down the road and attempted to call her. He then began knocking on her windows, according to the report.
The sergeant noted that the victim contacted her parents around the time that Chin was calling her, and her parents observed that Chin’s vehicle was parked down the street from her home.
The MCSO report stated that Chin sent a voice recording to the victim in mid-July, and he acknowledged that he did not want to send it in writing since it would be considered a “written threat.” In the recording, Chin claimed that he would “shoot up the house if he sees another guy there,” and he added that he would “empty the entire magazine” of his SWAT rifle.
On August 2, the victim sent a media file to the sergeant which included multiple text messages that were exchanged between Chin and the victim. The MCSO report stated that on July 17 and 18, Chin sent text messages to the victim about her vehicle not being home and her “entertaining” other men.
In addition, Chin sent a nine-second audio recording via text message to the victim stating, “I was gonna text this to you but then you could get me arrested for written threats. I will shoot your (expletive) up, keep playing.” After the victim responded by stating she was unsure if she should be laughing or scared, Chin replied by stating, “You should be scared,” according to the MCSO report.
The sergeant compared a recorded encounter that Chin had with a citizen to the recording provided by the victim, and the sergeant noted in the report that it appeared to be the same person.
On August 16, MCSO deputies arrested Chin on the charge of aggravated stalking, and he was transported to Marion County Jail.
The Ocala Police Department released a statement following Chin’s arrest:
“We regret to inform our community about the recent arrest of one of our police officers for aggravated stalking (dating violence). This incident is deeply unfortunate and disappointing.
We want to emphasize that such behavior goes against the principles and values of our department, and we do not tolerate any criminal misconduct, especially from those who take an oath to protect and serve. The individual involved has been terminated and is no longer part of our law enforcement agency.
Rest assured, the Ocala Police Department remains dedicated to upholding the highest standards of professionalism and integrity within its ranks. We are committed to justice and will do everything we can to hold everyone accountable for their actions.
We appreciate our community’s continued support during this unfortunate circumstance.”