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Hillsborough Fire Chief Put On Paid Leave After Arrest

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By JOSH POLTILOVE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 3, 2008

Updated: 03/03/2008 08:03 pm

TAMPA - TAMPA - TAMPA - County Administrator Pat Bean said in a news conference this afternoon that Nesmith has 12 weeks or so of accrued leave. She said she does not know how much time Nesmith will need to sort through personal issues.

"Today he has to be very distracted and very upset, and he needs time to deal with that," she said.

Assistant Fire Chief/Chief of Operations Bill Singleton will replace Nesmith on an interim basis. He has worked for Fire Rescue since December 1996.

Nesmith was arrested after his wife told deputies he threatened to kill her and then himself, an arrest report states.

Bill Nesmith

He was charged with aggravated assault and was released from the Pinellas County Jail on Sunday night after posting $5,000 bail, jail records show. A message left for Nesmith today was not returned.

The incident happened shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday at the couple's Indian Rocks Beach home.

After returning from a weekend trip to the National Association of Counties and National Association of County Administrators meetings in Washington D.C., Bean met with Nesmith for about 10 minutes today. She suggested Nesmith take accrued leave, and he agreed, Bean said.

Bean had a variety of options of what she could have requested, including placing him in unpaid leave or requesting his resignation, Hillsborough spokeswoman Lori Hudson said.

Nesmith's version of what happened with his wife didn't come up during the meeting, Bean said.

"I don't know the truth at this point," Bean said. "I don't know all the facts of what happened."

Bean said Hillsborough County won't look into the incident because it isn't directly connected to county business.

Hillsborough provides counseling services for employees who need help, and Nesmith might use those services, Bean said.

"I have the belief that he is a strong person and he can deal with this," she said.

According to the arrest report:

Nesmith's wife told deputies he had threatened to shoot her and then himself. She said she didn't know whether her husband's two handguns were in the house but that she feared he was going to get them when he went into a bedroom.

Nesmith denied the allegations.

Deputies responding to the home spoke to Nesmith by phone and had him come outside, Pinellas sheriff's Sgt. Jim Bordner said. Deputies recovered two handguns - a revolver and a semiautomatic - from vehicles.

Alcohol contributed to the incident, according to the report.

Nesmith was hired as assistant chief in January 1994 and was promoted to fire chief in October 1996. Before that, he worked for more than 24 years with Tampa Fire Rescue and retired as a division chief.

Nesmith, 59, oversees fire protection and emergency services in a 931-square-mile area and manages a budget of more than $110 million.

He earns $139,276 a year, Hudson said.

Bean said it is a nonissue that Nesmith lives in Pinellas County because he isn't among the few Hillsborough County employees required to live within Hillsborough.

In Nesmith's December 2007 performance review, Assistant County Administrator Carl Harness wrote Nesmith "handles his responsibilities in a professional manner and is diligent in keeping management informed on issues and problem areas. His dedication to the Fire profession is greatly appreciated. It is a pleasure having Chief as a member of our Team."

Information from Tribune archives was used in this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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