By Erica Rodriguez
The Orlando Sentinel
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Villages fire chief — a former Florida fire chief of the year — was charged with child abuse after a fight with a child older than 12, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said today.
Mike Tucker, 46, who heads the fire department in the huge retirement community northwest of Orlando, is accused of abusing the child during a verbal fight that turned physical. The altercation resulted in bruises and red marks on the child’s left shoulder, ribs, neck, back and head, according to an arrest report.
Tucker, who was arrested Thursday at his home in Oxford near The Villages, told authorities the two were “tussling pretty good” Wednesday night and admitted he pushed the child from a stool, causing the child to fall to the floor.
Tucker said he “bopped” the child on the head and then grabbed the child and took the child outside by the back of the neck. Once there Tucker held the child against a fence to keep the child from getting away, according to the report.
The child — who authorities wouldn’t name to protect the victim’s identity — later told a friend at school, who alerted a parent. That parent reported the incident Thursday to authorities, sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Bobby Caruthers said.
Tucker has been employed in the retiree haven since 2001 after working in fire-rescue services for Leesburg and Mount Dora as well as Reedy Creek Emergency Services. In 2011 he was named fire chief of the year by the Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association. The association said “his leadership and vision have grown the agency into a premier fire rescue provider in the state.”
Community development district manager Janet Tutt wrote in an email that Tucker is employed by the district but wouldn’t comment further.
In a 2011 interview with the Sentinel, Tucker said he had four children with his wife, Dale, and had planned on going into the ministry before stumbling on firefighting.
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