Alachua man arrested for spitting on, hitting, and kicking police officers, EMTs, and emergency room staff

Staff report

ALACHUA, Fla. – Robert Lydell Sharp, 52, was arrested Wednesday and charged with four counts of battery on a police officer or EMT, one count of simple assault on a police officer or EMT, and one count of resisting an officer with violence.

At about 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday, May 24, an Alachua Police Department (APD) officer conducted a traffic stop and issued a citation to Sharp. Sharp reportedly became “highly irate” during the traffic stop, making fists, shouting profanity, and refusing to follow commands from officers at the scene.

Once the traffic stop was completed and Sharp was released, he allegedly went to the APD station and asked to speak with a supervisor. Two APD lieutenants met him in the lobby, and Sharp allegedly became aggressive by blading his stance, making fists, shouting profanity, and making threats. The officers tried to detain him to prevent injury and property damage, but Sharp allegedly began violently resisting them.

Sharp allegedly kicked the lieutenants and spit on them, then tensed his body and thrashed on the floor to resist being handcuffed. After he was handcuffed, he allegedly continued to violently resist being placed in a patrol car and finally had to be carried to the patrol car. At the patrol car, he allegedly continued to scratch officers, kick officers with his steel-toed boots, and strike officers with his head, elbows, and knees. Three officers were injured and were struck in the face by spittle.

After a prolonged struggle, Sharp was reportedly placed in the patrol vehicle, but he began complaining of pain and shortness of breath, so Alachua County Fire Rescue was called to the scene. Sharp reportedly resisted being placed on a gurney and into the ambulance, hitting and spitting on officers and medical personnel. He allegedly physically fought with officers and medical personnel in the ambulance while on the way to the hospital, which resulted in officers and medical personnel being battered and “covered in saliva.” The medical personnel did not want to pursue charges but reportedly acknowledged they had been battered by Sharp. Sharp also allegedly tried to bite an officer who used his hands and arms to try to turn Sharp’s face away, to prevent being spit on.

When he arrived at the hospital, Sharp allegedly spat directly in the face of an officer who was trying to restrain him from kicking medical personnel and then tried to hit and bite numerous hospital staff members in the emergency department. Even after being placed in a hospital bed, Sharp allegedly tried to punch an emergency department nurse but was prevented from doing so by the physical intervention of officers and medical staff.

All of these actions were reportedly accompanied by “repeated, aggressive, and derogatory racial slurs, threats of physical and sexual violence against medical staff and law enforcement officers and their families… due to the resentment and hatred that he feels toward law enforcement.”

Sharp has five felony convictions (three violent) and 37 misdemeanor convictions. He has a pending felony case in Leon County for battery on a law enforcement officer and disorderly conduct. Judge Walter Green set bail at $3,000 per charge, for a total of $18,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.