Florida officer drunkenly strangles ex after breaking into her apartment, deputies say: ‘I saw stars’

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A Gainesville police officer was arrested after allegedly strangling his ex after a night out at a local club after he broke into her apartment, according to an arrest affidavit from Alachua County Sheriff's Office.

Christopher Bivins was arrested and charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, domestic battery by strangulation, grand theft and criminal mischief.

The incident happened Friday night after Bivins and a woman found themselves at the same nightclub. Deputies said the two were in a previous intimate dating relationship and share a child together.

The 25-year-old woman was at Simons nightclub in downtown Gainesville when she received a text message from Bivins saying he was also at the club, according to an arrest affidavit. Bivins reportedly paid for a section of the club for her and her friends and had a "pleasant evening."

It wasn't until they left that an argument erupted.

While Bivins and the woman were leaving the club in separate directions, she received several calls from the front gate of her apartment complex, which means someone was trying to enter. Deputies said Bivins does not live at this apartment, nor does he have permission to be there.

When she arrived at home, she saw Bivins' black truck parked across the street. She walked into her apartment to find visible damage to her door frame and the front door open, the report said. She also told deputies that her apartment was in "disarray."

When the woman confronted Bivins about why he was in her apartment without her permission, he "took control of (her) neck and took her to the floor on her back against her will," the report said. While she was on her back, Bivins allegedly kneeled on top of her, strangling her until she almost lost consciousness.

"I saw stars," she told deputies, adding that she thought about her child and said she was going to "lose her life for nothing."

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He released his grip and stepped back, giving the woman the chance to get up, get her car keys and flee to her mom's house in Gilchrist County, the affidavit said.

When she returned to her apartment, the woman said her personal items were thrown over the balcony and several electronics, including an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods were missing and couldn't be found, the report said.

Deputies caught up with Bivins and arrested him. He told authorities he did meet up with the woman at the club, but was heavily intoxicated at the time. He said he remembered parking his truck across the street from her apartment, but didn't remember going inside.

Bivins was booked into the Alachua County Jail, but his bond status is unknown at this time.

In August, Bivins was voted as "Officer of the Month," according to a Facebook post from the Gainesville Police Department.