Suspect ‘screamed, hit his head on my vehicle and asked ‘am I going to jail’ rather than engaging in an adult conversation’

CLERMONT, Fla. – Folks at a bus stop got quite a scare from a man police claim was drunk, but the bus driver reportedly got the worst of it.

The call was about a man “wearing sweatpants and an orange beanie, threatening the bus driver and stating that he had a gun on him,” on Friday evening, Jan. 17, in Florida.

Eric John Scott left the LYNX park-and-ride bus station on foot,

but an officer “immediately located the male subject walking on the sidewalk, back towards the bus, which was still stopped at the station,” his arrest report said.

“[I] stepped out of my vehicle and drew my department-issued Glock 47,” the cop continued, “due to the threat that Eric had allegedly made earlier, regarding him being in possession of a gun.”

Then, “I observed Eric turn around and I witnessed him throw an object from his hands down a hill, in an attempt to not allow me to see what he had.

“I ordered Eric to lay flat on his stomach with his arms to his sides until a backup unit arrived. Once [another officer] had arrived, he placed Eric in handcuffs and secured him in the rear of my marked patrol vehicle.

“Once Eric was secured, I walked down the hill to locate what Eric threw, and located an open alcohol container branded ‘E&J 80 proof,’ which was about half empty.”

The other officer tried to speak with Scott but reported, “Eric was obviously intoxicated with bloodshot, glassy, watery eyes and smelling of alcohol.”

He later added, “Eric advised that he threw the bottle of alcohol intentionally, so I could not arrest him for possession of an open container in public, showing that he intentionally attempted to conceal physical evidence of a crime.”

That led to Scott’s most serious criminal charge.

“Eric had approached the bus as it pulled into the stop,” the driver reportedly said, “and immediately began attempting to ‘pry’ the bus doors open with his hands. [She] advised she opened the doors to allow passengers into the bus, and Eric immediately approached the driver seat which she was in, and leaned around her clear partition to separate the passengers from the driver.

“[The driver] advised she told Eric to back up, and as he started to back up, Eric stated ‘if you get off this bus I would beat your a**.’ [She] then stated that as Eric stepped off the bus and stood in the doorway, he told her ‘I have a gun,’ and left soon after.

“[The driver] advised me that the comments that Eric made did put her in fear of harm, and she felt as if the threat Eric was making was credible, because she did not have a weapon on her at the time, and did not have a way to protect herself from him.

“[She] additionally advised that before she arrived to the bus stop, another bus driver had an interaction with Eric, where Eric got onto the bus and without permission got into the driver seat of the vehicle.”

The officer also reported speaking “with three witnesses on scene who did not wish to identify themselves. They each had separate interactions with Eric at the bus stop, prior to the bus arriving, stating he attempted to take a cell phone from one of them, attempted to take another witness’ bike from him, and continuously harassed the third witness. The witnesses stated they saw Eric yelling at the bus driver, but did not hear exact wording.”

Finally, the officer reported trouble getting Scott’s side of the story.

“Every time I tried to talk to Eric,” he wrote, “he only yelled, screamed, hit his head on my vehicle, and asked ‘am I going to jail,’ rather than engaging in an adult conversation.

“During my conversation with Eric, it was obvious that he was under the influence of alcohol, and due to the fact that his disorderly intoxication carried over into my presence, along with the fact that Eric threw the bottle of alcohol to intentionally get out of what he perceived a criminal charge, I placed him under a custodial arrest at that time.”

That wasn’t the first call to police about Scott that day. They got a call from an Arby’s, “also in reference to Eric causing a disturbance at the restaurant,” the arrest report said.

Scott, 37, was charged with concealing physical evidence, which was throwing the bottle. That’s the only felony he faces. He was also charged with assault on a public transit employee and disorderly intoxication.

His bond was set at $6,500 and he has neither paid it, nor been released from jail.