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Man charged with assault on councillor

July 16, 2014   ·   0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons
A Nobleton man has been charged with assault causing bodily harm after striking Councillor Peter Grandilli Friday night.
Norman Mills was charged by York Regional Police after he punched Grandilli at a local restaurant.
Mills said he went to the councillor’s table to discuss some long-standing planning issues and words were exchanged. Mills has had concerns regarding his severance application and what he sees as favoritism on the part of the Township.
Mills said Grandilli called him a “piece of s…”?and after a few exchanges he “clobbered him one.”
And then Grandilli bit Mills’s outstretched arm.
Grandilli said he was utterly shocked at the unexpected confrontation. It was inappropriate, he said, to disrupt someone’s dinner and cause a scene. He’s even considering Starting a personal injury claim as there’s some swelling from the punch. If the punch continues to swell, it could result in a trip to the hospital and even a CT scan. Grandilli would certainly be eligible for a personal injury claim then.
The owner of the restaurant did ask the men to stop or take it outside. Mills said he did invite Grandilli outside to talk, and nothing more.
Grandilli said he stayed in his chair and tried to remain calm.
“The next thing?I know is I?saw an arm in front of me,” he said.
He did admit to grabbing Mills’s arm and “hung on with my teeth.”
Grandilli suffered a bloody nose and no one at the table could believe what happened.
Grandilli went to hospital in Richmond Hill and had x-rays taken. Nothing was broken.
Grandilli is aware of Mills’s long-standing dispute over severances, but in the councillor’s case, he never voted on his own application. He didn’t know why Mills would take it out on him personally.
Grandilli wondered whether councillors should receive “danger pay” or be accompanied by body guards.
Mills was also taken to hospital in Newmarket to get updated tetanus shots, as well as other vaccines for things like Hepatitus B. He’s also getting followup blood work. He learned just how dangerous a human bite can be, sometimes worse than a dog bite, he said.

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