Edgewater Mayor Diezel DePew Won't Be Charged for Battery Accusations

Edgewater Mayor Diezel DePew will not face criminal charges for allegedly pushing a sign into a woman at an early voting site. DePew, who has vehemently denied the accusations, had a complaint against him forwarded to the State Attorney's Office for review. The incident in question occurred late at night on Friday, August 7. DePew was at the New Smyrna Beach Regional Library setting up campaign signs before the start of early voting. A volunteer, identified as Donna McDavid, was involved in a verbal dispute with DePew. Prior to the alleged battering, DePew himself called New Smyrna Beach police accusing others of moving his campaign signs. An officer was present when McDavid says DePew pushed a large campaign sign into her as he attempted to set it in the ground. The New Smyrna Beach Police Department forwarded their complaint to the State Attorney's Office, where it would be decided whether to move forward with charges against DePew. The Edgewater mayor, who's campaigning for re-election, called the accusation a "baseless political attack". In comments reported by FOX 35 News Orlando, McDavid said she felt as though the decision made her feel "like a victim again". She claimed the impact left her with bruising on her arms. McDavid is reportedly a disabled veteran who suffers from ALS. Officer Nicholas Edwards, who was present for the incident, reported seeing the sign "come very close" to McDavid. He was unsure if it made contact with her, but said it came within a couple inches of her face. Bodycam footage of the incident appears to show the sign being large enough where DePew may not have been able to see McDavid while he moved it into position. "I'm truly grateful that our legal system was not abused during this process to distract our residents from the issues that truly matter," DePew posted to his Facebook page on Wednesday. "This was a completely baseless political attack against my character." Diezel DePew is running for a second four-year term in office as Edgewater mayor. He faces two challengers in the city's nonpartisan primary: Wayne McCloskey and Steven Oleksy.