A special prosecutor will be appointed to decide whether charges should be filed against Eureka Springs City Council member Harry Meyer over allegations that he hit a neighbor with a vehicle during an incident in July.
Carroll County Circuit Judge Scott Jackson signed an order on Nov. 10, granting Carroll County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Rogers’ motion 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 Office of the Prosecutor Coordinator will select the special prosecutor, Jackson’s order states.
THE ALLEGATIONS
The possible charges against Meyer arose after 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 claim boiled over to an incident on Sunday, July 13, where 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. “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, Eureka Springs City Clerk Treasurer Ida Meyer, witnessed the incident.
“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 when 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?’
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 are leading to 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.”
