Bob Bone, ex-Leesburg commissioner/mayor, accused of biting firefighter during medical call
LEESBURG — Police arrested former City Commissioner and Mayor Bob Bone and accused him of attacking a firefighter who was trying to get Bone to the hospital after he fell at his home.
The arrest affidavit said police were called to Bone's home at 1:36 a.m. on Oct. 1.
The affidavit said: “His wife advised that he has been drinking all evening and has been abusing his prescription medication.” She said he fell earlier and hit his nose and mouth on the floor.
More Ian coverage: FEMA aid available now that Lake County is part of Federal Disaster Declaration area
'Nobody can take away this pain': Families seethe over plea deal in crash that killed four
New leader: Former NBA player Sam Vincent is new head coach at Beacon College in Leesburg
The officer found Bone, 59, laying on his bed bleeding from his nose and mouth.
The affidavit said he became “hostile” and “began yelling profanities at medical staff and myself (the report writer)” when medical personnel arrived and began trying to check his vital signs.
The report said Bone thought it was 2021 and could not say how many quarters were in a dollar. They decided he needed to go to the hospital.
He refused to stand up and had to be “chemically restrained by medical personnel.” He began to calm down but still needed to be carried to the stretcher because he refused to get up.
The medical call took a violent turn
At that time, he began to become combative, the affidavit says.
“He unbuckled several of the seat belt straps and started to get up. When medical personnel pushed the subject back onto the stretcher, he started kicking at EMS/Fire and started pushing them back….,” the affidavit says.
When a firefighter pushed his arm down to the stretcher, “the subject reached up with his head and bit the victim’s triceps.”
“He bit me!” the firefighter screamed.
Officers pushed him back. After refusing “several dozen commands,” police tried to handcuff him to the stretcher, but he tensed up his arm and “was flailing it back and forth,” according to the affidavit.
“Due to the subject’s aggravated physical resistance and the fact that he already committed a felony, I began delivering close-fist strikes to the subject’s face in order to gain compliance. After striking the subject two times in the face and giving several commands to comply, the subject stopped resisting and was ultimately handcuffed to the stretcher,” the affidavit says.
The firefighter said he wanted the State Attorney’s Office to prosecute. Bone faces a third-degree felony – simple battery on a firefighter – punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Bone was taken to a hospital emergency room. Once cleared, he was taken to the Lake County jail, where he was held in lieu of $2,000 bail.
Bone did not return calls seeking comment.
Bob Bone served in public office from 2014 to 2019
Bone was elected to the Leesburg City Commission in November 2014 and served until January 2019. He said he was not seeking re-election because he wanted to spend time with his family. He was elected mayor by his fellow commissioners in 2017.
Bone’s law practice, the Bone Law Firm on Main Street, handles family, real estate, estate planning and bankruptcy law.
The Florida Bar has grievance committees that review cases involving lawyer discipline. The State Attorney’s Office has notified the Florida Bar about the arrest.
Attorneys who face criminal charges can face a variety of punishments. The Florida Supreme Court hands down the ultimate judgment.
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Ex-official in Leesburg, Florida accused of battering first responder
