St. Pete Beach district fire chief arrested after assaulting cyclist, deputies say

A St. Pete Beach Fire Department district chief was arrested Thursday after he assaulted and battered a cyclist during a road rage incident on Gulf Boulevard in Redington Shores, deputies said.

Pinellas deputies arrested Thomas McClave about 5 p.m. on charges of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle and simple battery after the encounter, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

McClave, 55, of Seminole was off duty and driving his personal vehicle, a 2017 Chevrolet pickup, south on Gulf Boulevard near 175th Avenue when he came up behind a cyclist riding in the shared travel lane. McClave pulled up beside the cyclist, 58-year-old Gregory Hicks, and yelled for him to get out of the roadway, deputies said.
------------------

For More News and Videos
SUBSCRIBE and Turn Notifications On

Get a Digital Subscription to the Tampa Bay Times

Follow us:

[danmarshall]

Bonus points for telling a firefighter he's toast.

[hollamonE]

If he does that in public, what kind of monster is he behind closed doors?

[mariar]

What a bully! So glad you filmed this. Thank you for your good deed exposing this cowardly act.

[RakiOsrez]

Damn, this is the first time I've lost respect for a firefighter.

[Lizardatsparks]

This is absolutely disgusting. He's actually using his truck as a weapon. For something like this, this man needs to serve some jail time as well as having his license revoked and being fired from his firefighting job.

[MrHeff]

This guy is an embarrassment to fire fighters everywhere.

[td]

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE??? I am so glad you recorded this.

[mowilson]

You can hear what sounds like a young kid getting upset in his truck. That is sad……

[pamsmith]

That's the kind of firefighter that sets fires so he can pretend to be a hero.
Mental eval + fired from dept.

[GregoryMichaelCarter]

What an embarrassment to his colleagues

[selaneespinoza]

Using a truck to hit someone is deadly force, and having children in the car while doing it is child endangerment. It’s crazy that he got a simple assault charge. That’s just insane

[melissaburress]

I hope he was charged for child endangerment too, those poor children crying in that truck should have been enough for him to control all of his emotions

[thatwhatisaid]

He was arrested and is looking at 15 years aggravated assault with a vehicle.

[orvenmontinola]

I heard crying inside the truck. If your kids are watching your actions you're an embarrassment to your family.

[ItsNotAboutTheHorses]

I hope child abuse charges are brought up.

[usmcmsgt]

He needs to be FIRED and in prison for attempted murder.

[llorylloyd]

Thank you for recording this... The fact he says no big deal like he knows he's going to get away with it smfh

[NicklePickle]

It's even more disgusting & disturbing with the children in the car screaming at him to stop! This guy must be a nightmare at home!

[GDoggy-emxc]

I’m sure that firefighter is going to get fired (no pun intended) and lose his pension. He threw the rest of his life away and he has no one to blame but himself.

[burnindaylighthomestead]

Those children should be taken away from him for child endangerment.