HOLMES BEACH – Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer recently issued a reminder that moving or removing a political campaign sign is illegal.
On Sept. 21, Tokajer issued the following statement: “As election season is upon us, it is important to be respectful to those running for election. If you remove election signs from property you could be charged with theft. If you are not a police officer, code officer or the property owner, you are not allowed to move or remove election signs. You saying you did not believe it was properly placed does not give you permission to move or remove election signs.”
Tokajer advised calling the police department or the code compliance department if you think a campaign sign has been improperly placed, removed or tampered with.
On Monday, Sept. 28, Officer Alex Hurt responded to a call from a resident who reported a missing campaign sign.
According to the police department incident report, “While on routine patrol, I was dispatched in reference to a theft of a political sign. I met with the complainant who advised he had a sign for Mark Hebden for city commission in his front yard that was removed without his permission. Complainant advised that the sign was gifted to him and he did not purchase it. The complainant last saw the sign Monday evening and has not seen it since. The complainant does not wish to press charges at this time.”
