The Village Fire Chief arrested for child abuse
 

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Fire Chief of Villages arrested on charge of child abuse
January 16, 2014 By Meta Minton 2 Comments

Mike Tucker
Villages Fire Chief Mike Tucker has been arrested on a charge of child abuse.
He has been with the Villages Public Safety Department for more than a decade.
He was arrested by Sumter County sheriff’s deputies late Thursday afternoon.
Tucker was the Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association chief of the year in 2011.
He has been a member of the fire service for 28 years. He is a certified paramedic and a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. Tucker earned an Associates Degree in Fire Science from Lake-Sumter Community College, a Bachelors Degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix, and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Florida Gulf Coast University.
Filed Under: News

What is the source of this story?
nevermind...I found it: **************

comment...innocent until proven guilty...

Exactly lets not bash the guy, we don't even know the whole story.

villages news .com

the link can not be posted her

Yes, agree. Wait for the full story before blowing this out of proportion. He wrote the editorial in this week's Rec News and he mentioned having four teenaged sons - if my memory serves me, that would test the patience of Job!

Don't crucify the guy on this site before the full story is known!

I have yet to see a bash..

Mine was a repost.

Too early ---not enough information. It's a sad situation REGARDLESS innocent or guilty outcome.

......until you walk in someone elses shoes.........

He made the 11PM news (Orlando local CBS affiliate) last night. He was being held without bond.

Imagine what Mike Tucker's family is going through, whether the charges are true or false. My heart goes out to his wife and children.

It was also on the front page of the Sun today.

Being just 1 count against him, I say let's wait to hear his side, too. He's done so much good for this this area that I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, but if he's truly guilty, then that's a shame.

Once the details come out - we can determine who needs to go. The fire chief or the sheriff. If it is a simple case of whopping a kid then the sheriff needs to go. If it is something more, than the fire chief needs to go. In any case, the Morse publicity machine can't be happy.

My Heart Goes Out To Chief Mike Tucker And His Family, He Has Brought The Villages Public Safety Department Into The 21st Century Model Envied By Many, He Is Professional, Polished, Classy, Innovative And Inspirational And We Should NOT Pass Judgement On This Man Until We Know ALL The Details !!!!!! FYI, If The Morse Publicity Team Didn't Want This On The Front Page Of The Paper, We Wouldn't Be Talking About This Today Folks !!!!!!
__________________

I hope to see these same innocent until proven guilty comments on every thread about someone who has been arrested. And IMO no matter what the final outcome, the sheriff does not "need to go" if this is "nothing more than whopping a kid" The sheriff does his or her job by making arrests when there is cause, the judicial system will take it from here. If there is an accusation it becomes the obligation of the police to investigate and if appropriate arrest. If the arrest was inappropriate then the accused has access to that same judicial system for relief. It's the system we have, and it usually works well at least for non-poor people. And "whopping a kid" is a crime as it should be.
Florida chapter 39
Abuse” means any willful act or threatened act that results in any physical, mental, or sexual abuse, injury, or harm that causes or is likely to cause the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health to be significantly impaired. Abuse of a child includes acts or omissions. Corporal discipline of a child by a parent or legal custodian for disciplinary purposes does not in itself constitute abuse when it does not result in harm to the child.

The law goes on to define "harm" and if you wish to understand the severity of what has to allegedly happen before a charge can be made I would strongly encourage you to read the things that are listed as covered.
Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

A little more info. Channel 9 out of Orlando noon news. Fire chief got in an argument with someone, which escalated to an altercation. No information on the other individual was given. Chief has a hearing with a judge this afternoon. The reporter said more information at 4PM

From the Daily Commercial
Millard K. Ives | Staff Writer millardives@dailycommercial.com | 0 comments




Fire Chief Mike Tucker of the District Public Safety Department in The Villages was arrested Thursday on child abuse charges.

He is being held in the Sumter County jail without bail and was scheduled to make his first appearance on the charges this morning in the Sumter County courthouse.

According to a heavily redacted arrest affidavit, Tucker was arguing with a child and allegedly stuck him, knocking him off a bar stool. Tucker then allegedly jumped on the child, pinning the child to the ground with his knee, and started beating him.

Tucker then allegedly dragged the child into the front yard and continued beating him, including hitting his head against a gate.

The fire chief told officials "we were tussling pretty good."

The affidavit said authorities became involved after a student at the child’s school was made aware of bruises to the victim’s shoulder, ribs, back, neck and head.

According to Lt. Bobby Caruthers, a spokesman for the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred Wednesday. The allegations were reported to the sheriff’s office on Thursday and, after an interview with detectives at a sheriff’s substation, Tucker was arrested.

Tucker has been employed with the District Public Safety Office since 2011 and received the 2011 Florida Fire Chief of the Year award recognition at the Florida Fire Chief’s Conference in Marco Island.

Sadly the genie is out of the bottle re: reputation and I'm sorry for that.
I was an expert witness in several counties in CAN (Child abuse and Neglect).
What we know about this case is...almost nothing.

We know the SO thought an arrest should be made, and possibly the SAO (state atty) was consulted with evidence prior to the arrest given recognizance of the alleged abuser.

That said, I've seen, as have we all, every sort of manipulation of so-called truth to the point that I am so cynical that my motto is "Justice is a joke and the truth is a lie"...(not counting The Truth and the Way)
I wish it were otherwise, but I think one is just as likely to be falsely accused as to get away with murder. Happens all the time.

A lot of sympathy for the Fire Chief ( Adult ) grown man. More sympathy for the Chiefs family...how about the " Alleged " Victim. Where is the feeling for him.
What goes on behind closed doors, lot's of movies, TV shows, and it is usually " He " was the nicest, kind, gentile, would do anything for you, the " Pillar " of the community, and then the shoe drops along with the jaws. Held without bond should tell you there is more to this. Skip the feel sorry for the Chief until we get the scoop. We'll see how long " Alleged " last's. Keep in mind...Grown Man vs Child !! " We Were Tussling Pretty Good ", so said the arrested person, and extent of injuries to the victim came from more than a " Tussle " . Big Brave Adult , not so big and brave sitting in a jail cell.

Wow! Fire Chief has a temper and this time it has got him in some real trouble. Teenage kids, especially boys, can make you "lose it"----question, did the chief "cross the line"? From the newspaper account it appears he could have.

The abuse laws are so written that it is almost impossible to discipline your children these days. That said, there are good reasons for them and there is a difference between discipline and "beating" your kids. No matter what the kid said or did----there was a better way to handle the situation.

Agree totally with you... it's unbelievable (no, believable, ;-) that when a person who has a "Title" before their name is arrested w/charges like this, some ppl will always say the same sentiments re;what I've been reading here on TOTV. If it was a so-called "low-life" they'd be automatically labelled guilty. I do not "feel sorry' for anyone committing any crime against any person. The red flag to me was when I read in the papers "held without bond"... that tells me that the dude is dangerous....

I had a lawyer friend who slapped his daughter for missbehaving and she called 911. He now has a felony conviction on his record and is on probation.

According to The Villages news, he was released this afternoon on $5,000 bond. The original news article probably should have said "held pending a bond hearing", not "held without bond".

If it is true that this guy has a bad temper than one has to wonder how he made it all the way to Fire Chief. If it is true then he ought not to be leading people given the fact that his failure to control his temper created such a breach in sound judgment Could you imagine a cop with a temper like that

The chief's action may be a basis for a lawsuit which isn't going to be a good thing for any of us

Yes, he shot a guy over texting just this week!

I don't have a problem with that.....

I sure don't either. Some of the kids I see need more than a good
slap. Maybe a good size 12 boot in the......well, you get the idea.

So what!!!! These days you can't discipline your children without someone threatening you with child abuse.... You will note that the son didn't do the reporting of the incident. That probably says it all.... Give the guy a break. Regardless of the whole story, it's embarrasing enough for the family, give it a break folks......

How old was 'this child' again? I must have missed the child's age somehow.

Village Fire Chief
 

The "child" was probably afraid to say anything; just as abused wives are afraid to speak out.

You misunderstood what I said. I don't have a problem with the fact the father who "slapped" his daughter is now a felon. I'm sure there is a lot more to that story.

That's it right there Vernster, the child and/or abused wives are afraid to say anything...so the abuse goes on & on until someone gets killed or so mentally broken down that they either walk thru life badly wounded in their mind or commit suicide. I used to call the police all the time when I was a kid on my father for beating my mother and my siblings, so I'm speaking from personal experience here. I hope that this incident can be resolved in a family court and counselling for the whole family.

Hopefully that child was thrown out of the house or sent to be raised by wolves.

When I was in school (too many years ago to count), if you got in trouble the nuns would discipline you. By the time you got home from school, your parents were notified. Then you got your butt beat at home also. Needless to say, I never did it again!!!
Things have changed!!!! Parents listen to their children and the teachers are blamed for everything!!!!
Parents wonder why their children don't owe up to their responsibilities!! He probably snapped!!! Bad situation the whole way around!

Well obviously this is going to be settled in court # 1

For all the Chief supporters the question you need to ask yourselves is pretty simple, will he take the stand in his own defense ? or take the Cowards way out and hide behind some slick lawyer.

The kid did not get those injuries from " We Had A Pretty Good Tussle " the Alleged Accused Own Words, and I do emphasize " Alleged ".

It as in today's DS on page C-1.

Z

My prayers go out to Mike Tucker, he is a good man, his teenage kid pushed his button, and he reacted.

Anyone know which organizations are useful for preventing child abuse?
 

Home

I looked this organization up by googling so I am not familiar with it. I am glad, however, that this incident is being discussed by the Villages Daily Sun as well as on TOTV.

Anyone have any information on what organizations, agencies, etc. were helpful if they were involved in some way with preventing child abuse, educating people about its effects and the like?


The Florida Victim Services Directory lists local resources-- http://myfloridalegal.com/directory organized by Judicial Circuit.

wow........

I have to agree with this comment .................. and I'll continue by asking "is this really child abuse" or was it a one off over-reaction to a smart mouth teenager, or is it an ongoing problem in the house? If it is an ongoing problem in the house then it's child abuse. I think if there was habitual child abuse in the home someone outside the home would have known about it. There are four boys, one of them would have mentioned something to someone by now.

I have just finished reading the piece in the paper which states that Mike Tucker had been out with his crew fighting the Villa fire, I am going to assume he returned to the Fire Station to help with the clean up of the engine and putting away equipment and then probably had to write at least one, probably two or more lengthy reports on the fire. I am going to assume he then went home exhausted and the son in question probably made a stupid typical teenage comment ................ At that point Mike Tucker appears to have lost it and pushed, slapped, whatever, his son causing him to fall off the kitchen stool. The son probably was more than annoyed by this reaction and continued to give his Father lip and from then on all hell broke lose in that house.

I have raised boys, great kids, but push my buttons they certainly could and did.

I am hoping when this case does go to court Mike Tucker will have a Judge who has some commonsense and gets to the bottom of this.

His child could've been killed from this beating......