Bradenton officer fired after drunkenly slamming child in car seat, deputies say
A Bradenton police officer was fired after investigators say he drunkenly “slammed” his child into a car seat while off duty.
Nicolas Leeman, 29, faces a felony child abuse charge in Hillsborough County after his arrest last month. An arrest report obtained by the Bradenton Herald provides the first detailed account of the allegations against him, including that Leeman spent the day drinking while caring for the child.
An attorney representing Leeman did not immediately respond to the Bradenton Herald’s request for comment.
According to the arrest report, Leeman told investigators he had “one or two” High Noon hard seltzers before picking the child up from daycare around 10 a.m. on Jan. 29. He said he drank throughout the day while he remained the child’s sole caretaker, the report said.
A witness arrived at Leeman’s home in Riverview around 6:30 p.m. and found him asleep on a couch and “noticeably intoxicated,” according to an arrest report. The witness found the child crying in a baby rocker and took photographs of a red mark and bruising on both sides of the child’s back minutes after arriving, the report states.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office began investigating after the injuries were reported.
Detectives later reviewed Ring doorbell camera footage recorded that afternoon that appears to show Leeman carrying the child to a pickup truck, according to court documents. Investigators wrote that the child did not appear upset until Leeman allegedly “slammed” the child into a car seat, after which the child could immediately be heard crying.
During an interview with detectives, Leeman referred to what happened as an “episode,” which investigators wrote in the arrest report he used to describe periods where he “drinks a lot.”
While Leeman said he could not remember the incident itself, investigators wrote that he told detectives he believed he may have “squeezed” the child.
The child later underwent an evaluation by the Child Protection Team, according to court records. Medical staff documented bruising on both sides of the child’s back and chronic subdural hemorrhages, a form of bleeding around the brain, the report says.
Court records show prosecutors charged Leeman, a K-9 officer who joined the Bradenton Police Department in October 2022, with child abuse. The arrest report accused him of the “intentional infliction of physical or mental injury upon a child.”
Deputies arrested Leeman on April 22 and booked him into the Manatee County Jail before transferring him to Hillsborough County, court records show. A judge later set Leeman’s bond at $5,000, which court records show he later posted.
Under Florida law, child abuse is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
The Bradenton Police Department fired Leeman the same day the charge was announced in April.
At the time of his arrest, the Bradenton Police Department said the allegation involved one of Leeman’s children and condemned the alleged conduct in a public statement.
“The alleged actions are unacceptable, contradict our mission to ensure a safe community, and do not align with the department’s values,” the department said.
