BATTLE CREEK, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – State Senator John Bizon of Battle Creek has entered a guilty plea to misdemeanor battery after a nurse practitioner said he inappropriately touched her during an exam.
According to Barry County Prosecutor Julie Nakfoor Pratt, who served as special prosecutor in the case, Bizon admitted in court to committing battery against a nurse practitioner who was working at Oaklawn Medical Group in Marshall.
Nakfoor Pratt says the crime is punishable by up to 93 days in jail and/or a fine of $500. Bizon’s sentence will be determined by the judge at a sentencing hearing, which has not yet been set.
In a statement, Bizon said he’s “deeply distressed that I unintentionally caused someone to feel unsafe.” He said he had COVID-19 and didn’t behave as he normally would have.
According to a police report on the incident, Bizon placed his hand on the waist of a 52-year-old nurse practitioner, pulled her to him and squeezed her hip in the exam room. The nurse practitioner told police the incident occurred while they were discussing medications and that “she was shocked and didn’t say anything at that time.”
She said Bizon also argued with her over the medication she recommended and her refusal to prescribe another. She told police he appeared “disappointed” and “visibly angry” when she refused to prescribe a different medication.
Bizon told the office’s staff that he was a senator and that Oaklawn President Gregg Beeg had sent him to the clinic for care, according to the report.
Bizon is a former ear, nose and throat doctor and a past president of the Michigan State Medical Society and the Calhoun County Medical Society.
In the Senate, he chairs the Families, Seniors and Veterans Committee and serves on the Oversight, Health Policy and Human Services and Energy and Technology committees.
He was elected to the Senate in 2018 after serving four years in the Michigan House.
Majority Leader Senator Mike Shirkey said Friday no official action against Bizon is under consideration at this time.
