A Republican Michigan state senator faces misdemeanor assault charges after a nurse practitioner accused him of inappropriately touching her.
Bizon tested positive for COVID-19 around the same day of his visit, according to the police report. It’s not clear whether he was at the clinic for COVID-19 or for some other ailment due to redactions in the police report.
Sen. John Bizon, 70, was elected to the Michigan senate in 2018 after serving four previous years as a house representative. He represents Calhoun, Barry and Ionia Counties in southwestern Michigan.
The incident occurred on August 14 in Marshall, Michigan, when the nurse, a 52-year-old woman, said Bizon touched her inappropriately while she was going over medications with him in an exam room.
Bizon was sitting on an examination table explaining his symptoms when the woman recommended an over-the-counter medication to him. He said he didn’t understand, so she pulled up a picture on her laptop.
The nurse practitioner told police that while she was explaining the medication, Bizon put his right arm around her, placed his right hand on her waist and pulled her toward his body. Bizon then squeezed her waist with his right hand and told her he was an otolaryngologist, or an ear, nose and throat doctor, according to the report.
Bizon then asked the nurse practitioner to order a specific medication for him, according to the police report. She refused and Bizon questioned her. The nurse practitioner told him that what he requested was not a medication for his diagnosis. He then questioned her decision and said he was disappointed in her, according to the report. The nurse practitioner said Bizon was visibly angry. He got off the exam table and said he was disappointed in her several times as he walked down the hallway and left the building.
The nurse practitioner did not say “no” or “stop” because she was shocked by the behavior. According to the police report, she reported the behavior to the medical assistant who told the woman that Bizon had also had behaved inappropriately with her when she was taking his vitals at the same appointment.
The medical assistant said the senator grabbed her arm and told her his blood pressure was up because she was in the room. The medical assisant said she wasn’t offended because “older men like to flirt with younger women.”
Bizon serves on several committees in the Michigan Senate, and chairs the Families, Seniors, and Veterans Committee. He has also served in several medical leadership roles, including the president of the Michigan State Medical Society in 2012.