Orange County Deputies Face Independent Review After Fatally Shooting Knife-Wielding Woman in Apparent Mental Health Crisis

Newly released body-camera footage of three Orange County deputies fatally shooting a knife-wielding woman in the Dr. Phillips area has revived a hard question about how Florida law enforcement meets people in the grip of a mental health crisis.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office shot and killed 59-year-old Rosalia Hodges on 3 June 2026 after she left her home holding a large knife and moved towards deputies. Sheriff John Mina says his officers backed away and repeatedly ordered her to drop the blade before they opened fire.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now conducting an independent review to determine whether the use of force was lawful.

A Welfare Call on Tivoli Drive That Ended in Gunfire

The sequence began just after 1 p.m. on 3 June, when a neighbour called about a woman screaming in the street on the 8200 block of Tivoli Drive. The sheriff's office later released audio of that non-emergency call, in which the neighbour describes Hodges shrieking at the top of her lungs, going back indoors, and banging on the walls.

'We're worried for her husband's health right now,' the caller says on the recording.

Cell-phone video captured before deputies arrived shows Hodges shouting in Spanish from her driveway.

By the time officers reached the address, she had gone back inside, so they knocked on her door, according to Mina. She answered while holding a large knife, and the encounter escalated within seconds.

What the Body-Camera Footage Shows

The sheriff's office released the body-worn camera video in early July, saying it publishes footage from critical incidents so the community can see the full context rather than relying on short clips circulating elsewhere.

The recording shows Hodges emerging from the home with the knife raised above her head, screaming at deputies to 'Get out.'

Deputies are heard retreating toward the street and shouting repeated commands for her to drop the weapon. Investigators say she refused and instead advanced, shouting, 'I'll kill you.' Three deputies then fired their service weapons and struck her. Officers rendered first aid until paramedics arrived, and Hodges was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

A History With the Baker Act and the Review Now Under Way

Mina said his agency had never dealt with Hodges before, but that records showed she had been detained in other parts of the state under the Baker Act. This Florida law lets officers and clinicians hold someone believed to be a danger to themselves or others for an involuntary psychiatric examination of up to 72 hours. That mental health history sits at the centre of why the case resonates, since encounters between armed officers and people in crisis are among the most scrutinised in modern policing.

So far, the reaction has played out mainly online rather than on the street, with viewers arguing over whether the deputies had any realistic alternative once Hodges charged with the knife. No protests, family lawsuit, or formal complaint have been reported since the shooting was first announced. The three deputies remain on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure after a shooting.

Under Florida's usual process, the Department of Law Enforcement will forward its findings to the State Attorney's Office, which weighs whether any charges are warranted. The sheriff's office says it will then carry out an internal investigation into whether its deputies followed agency policy. No criminal charges have been announced while that state review stays open.

Until investigators finish their work, the death of Rosalia Hodges stands as a stark measure of how officers are expected to respond when a person's crisis turns into a weapon.