A special prosecutor was appointed last week to decide whether charges should be filed against Eureka Springs City Council member Harry Meyer over allegations that he struck a neighbor with a vehicle during an incident in July.

In a Nov. 25 letter to Carroll County Circuit Judge Scott Jackson, state prosecutor coordinator Bob McMahan said Robbie Jones, deputy prosecuting attorney for the state’s Prosecution Coordination Commission, had agreed to serve in the capacity of special prosecutor.

Jackson signed an order on Nov. 10, granting Carroll County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Rogers’ motion field the same day requesting the appointment of a special prosecutor.

Rogers’ motion noted that one of the deputy prosecutors in his office also serves as prosecuting attorney for the city of Eureka Springs, which he contended creates a conflict of interest given Meyer’s role as a city council member.

THE ALLEGAT IONS

The investigation and potential charges against Meyer stem from a July 13 incident of alleged harassment and trespassing, with one neighbor alleging the council member committed “assault” using a vehicle.

During public comments at the July 14 city council meeting, three Cross Street residents voiced grievances against Meyer over a series of incidents which they say boiled over to an incident on Sunday, July 13, when neighbor Ruth Seymour alleges she was “ran over” by Meyer.

“I’m in front of you to bring to your attention that you have a councilman that has assaulted me with a vehicle,” Seymour said at the July 14 council meeting. “It happened yesterday evening in my neighbor’s access to the street and he actually left the scene. After he ran over me basically, he didn’t stop. He got out of his truck, locked, and went into his house.”

Seymour said Meyer’s daughter, Ida Meyer, witnessed the incident. At the time, Ida Meyer was the city’s clerk treasurer, a position she recently resigned.

“His daughter was a witness and I asked her to stay when I called 911 to no avail,” Seymour said.

Seymour, who lives across the street from Meyer, said the incident happened after she returned home from visiting her sister and discovered Meyer had “gone over and messed with personal property” of Jim Marple, who lives next door to the city council member.

“… I called Jim Marple, and in the process of calling him and going over there and taking pictures to send to him, I saw that Harry was down in his yard with a vehicle parked in a legal spot,” Seymour said. “… In that time he backed up his vehicle … came up his drive right back up and then proceeded to come straight at me knowing I was there.

“I yelled at him, ‘Harry, what are you doing?’

State Police Investigate

The Arkansas State Police investigated the allegations at the request of the Eureka Springs Police Department and submitted their investigative report to Rogers’ office.

Seymour has since told council members that injuries sustained during the incident led her to require neck surgery.

“According to the surgeon it could have been much worse. I could have been paralyzed,” she said. “The prosecuting attorney’s office has been notified of the surgical information, and hopefully he will use it in his review and take into consideration.”

Meyer Denies Allegations

Marple spoke during public comments at the most recent council meeting, on Nov. 24, repeating the allegations that Harry Meyer struck Seymour with his vehicle.

Harry Meyer responded later in the meeting, saying Seymour had “falsely accused me of running her over.”

“I didn’t run the woman over,” Harry Meyer said.