Chandler Council member acquitted of stealing signs

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

O.D. Harris has been found not guilty.

The Chandler City Council member celebrated with his wife and attorney Jan. 20 after having charges filed against him multiple times in connection to an alleged political sign-stealing incident just before the July 2024 election.

The Jan. 20 criminal trial should bring some resolution to a saga that started with complaints to the Chandler Police Department.

Judge Leonore Driggs of the Arcadia Biltmore Justice Court ruled that the prosecutor, who is from Scottsdale, didn’t prove that the types of signs damaged were political in nature.

Harris, who was charged with one count each of altering or destroy political sign and criminal damage-defacing, was overjoyed to share the news publicly on his social media.

“To the community I love so much, following my Rule 20 acquittal, I want to clearly and responsibly address an issue that continues to be mischaracterized,” Harris wrote. “The sign at the center of this case was not a ‘campaign sign.’ That fact was established in court. It did not meet the legal definition of a campaign sign under Arizona law. Instead, it was an illegal and defamatory sign that falsely targeted me and had no legal protection to be posted in the first place by an unregistered political activist group. I will take appropriate steps to address continued misstatements that repeat this false narrative. I also ask that my wife not be referenced or associated with this matter, as no such claims were proven or supported in court.”

Harris’ wife, Elizabeth Ward, was not charged in the incident, which was reported to have occurred July 28, 2024 — two days before Chandler voters elected Harris to a second term on Council.

That led to a 2024 Chandler Police investigation. In October of that year, a Maricopa County Justice Court dismissed a case, without prejudice, submitted by prosecutors with the city of Scottsdale, but charges were later refiled.

The incident, covered in detail in a Chandler Police report that includes interviews with Harris and at least one witness, stems from a Sunday, July 28, allegation of sign tampering.

Judge Driggs said the combination of the type of signs, which encouraged voters simply to not vote for Harris for reelection, and witnesses not being able to positively identify Harris as driving a vehicle near where signs were removed, created enough doubt to acquit him.

“Based on the state’s case in chief, I find the state did not present substantial evidence that the sign involved here meets the statutory description as charged,” Driggs said in court. “As for count two, here, the state’s evidence shows two females physically tore the sign, and the state’s theory places the defendant as the driver. Even viewing the evidence in light most favorable to the state, I find the state did not present substantial evidence that this defendant committed the charged acts or is otherwise criminally responsible for them, or that the required mental state was proved.”

The judge then urged everyone involved to take a different approach, going forward.

“I know that politics can get heated and I understand the fears, the pressure,” Driggs said. “I would just hope that people could run peacefully, have their free speech, but be kind to everyone out there. Politics needs to be a little bit more friendly. Refrain from any bullying tactics, I ask.”

Chandler Police Detective Ryan Kotsur took at least one of the police reports in the incident and was in court in Phoenix on Jan. 20. He wrote, in a report, about video taken by witnesses that shows two women or girls carrying unknown objects.

Video later obtained from a nearby Dutch Brothers Coffee shows the women described by the video-taking eyewitness getting in and out of a silver Lexus detectives believe Harris was driving at the time, then returning to the vehicle, which then leaves the area at a much faster speed than nearby vehicles.

The signs in question say “No O.D.,” though Harris, who is Black, and his attorney both mentioned that defacing of his personal campaign signs was done using racial epithets.

In both their 2024 statements to the media and again this week on Harris’ social media, neither Harris nor Ward flatly denied they weren’t involved with sign-tampering, though witness’ inability to positively identify him on-scene was mentioned.

“The only alleged evidence was a claim that two women removed a sign and that someone who looked like me, a Black man, was seen driving away from the general area,” Harris wrote. “That was enough for the legal system to be weaponized against me and my family.”

Harris remained focused on whether the “No O.D.” signs were legal and whether those were from a political group.

“I willingly spoke with police and explained that although I was in the general area, neither I nor anyone associated with me has ever removed a political sign,” Harris wrote. “I also informed police and city staff that the signs were illegal and part of an unregistered political campaign using racist and hateful propaganda to influence local elections.”

Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as those meet our  Civility Guidelines.

INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.