Around 1:51 AM on Saturday, March 21, 2026, a Polk County Sheriff’s Office sergeant and deputy found a woman in Duff Park, north of Lakeland, which was closed at the time. When contacted, the woman became irate and called friends to the scene. As the sergeant tried to detain her, she resisted and struck him, knocking off his radio microphone.
Deputies secured the woman, identified as 18-year-old Alaijah Shantel Joseph of Lakeland, who was on probation for Burglary of Conveyance and under a 6 PM curfew. She was taken to the Sheriff’s Processing Center and charged with Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer (F3), Resisting with Violence (F3), Depriving an Officer of Means of Communication (F3), Resisting without Violence (M1), and Trespassing (M2)…