CHANDLER, AZ — Charges against a Chandler councilman have been dismissed without prejudice in a case where witnesses reported that he and his wife took part in damaging a political sign.
According to the original complaint, Harris was charged with one count of tampering with a political sign and one count of damage to property.
On Wednesday, Councilman OD Harris told ABC15 that the charges against him were dismissed after court documents said that the state lacked probable cause to support the listed charges in the complaint. ABC15 obtained those court documents and confirmed that the charges were dismissed.
ABC15's previous reporting on this case are in the video player above
The Chandler Police Department had recently referred charges for OD Harris and his wife Elizabeth Ward after an investigation found the couple was allegedly involved in the damage of a political sign at the end of July near Chandler Mall. The signs were in opposition of OD Harris ahead of his re-election campaign.
The police department sent the case outside the city to Scottsdale’s city prosecutor because of the conflict of interest with him on the council.
The police report said on July 28, just days before the city election, witnesses saw a woman rip up an anti-OD sign near Chandler Boulevard and Hearthstone Way.
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Witnesses told police that they believed Harris was the driver of the vehicle.
According to the report, Harris said he was in that area to fix his signs that day as many of his had been stolen in the past.
The original documents go on to say that Harris told investigators he was inside his vehicle while his wife was outside the car and he did not want to comment on what she may have been doing.
The theft or damage of political signs is a class 2 misdemeanor in the state of Arizona.
Harris won his re-election bid at the end of July.
A spokesperson for the City of Scottsdale said the prosecutor's office disagrees with the dismissal and the office is currently weighing what legal remedies or options they have to pursue.
