GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The complaint alleging a Florida politician slapped a man in Gainesville during an argument over a political sign has been dropped, the Gainesville Police Department said Thursday.
State Rep. Keith Perry had been accused of trespassing and committing simple battery.
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According to the sworn complaint, the incident happened on Saturday in Gainesville when Perry saw one of his Senate campaign signs being taken down.
The incident was caught on a surveillance camera at the front of the home where the sign was removed.
The Gainesville Police Department released the surveillance video Wednesday morning.
In the video, a man, named in the complaint as Norman Leppla, can be seen bringing a Keith Perry political sign up to his door. According to the incident report, Leppla said he had moved it temporarily to minimize the risk of vandalism.
The report said Perry told Leppla he had permission for the sign to be there and demanded it be put back up.
In the video, Leppla appears again, putting the sign back by his door.
UNCUT: Surveillance video released by GPD
According to the complaint, Leppla told Perry to leave multiple times, but Perry didn't.
In the video, Perry and Leppla can be seen standing close together, in an apparent argument, before Perry hits Leppla in the neck.
News4Jax spotted two "Keith Perry for Senate" signs at the end of the driveway of the address listed for Leppla in the incident report. The gate to the house was locked, and a message left for Leppla was not returned.
Perry's campaign staffer said that the campaign might release a statement in the future.
Perry, a Republican, is facing Democrat Rod Smith in Senate District 8, which includes Alachua, Putnam and northern Marion counties, in the Nov. 8 general election.
Perry apologizes for sign fight
A campaign staffer for Perry's Senate campaign declined a News4Jax request for comment Wednesday. However, Perry later issued a statement on the incident.
"Anyone who knows me, knows that it takes quite a bit to rile me up," Perry said. "What began as a silly disagreement over a legal campaign yard sign -- that was authorized by the owner to be placed in his yard -- escalated, and for my part in that, I apologize."
Perry said Leppla tried to withdraw his complaint about the incident, but couldn't get in touch with the appropriate Gainesville police officer until the case had been referred to the State Attorney's Office.
"In fact, it wasn't until [Leppla] made threatening comments to my wife and spit in my face that I pushed him away to prevent him from spitting on me again," Perry said in the statement.
Leppla filed the complaint withdrawal form Thursday at the Gainesville Police Department, but because the case had already been forwarded to the State Attorney's Office, it's up to the SAO to decided how the case proceeds, GPD said.
GPD said the complaint withdrawal will also be forwarded to the State Attorney's Office.