Charges dismissed against police chief arrested while off-duty at county fair

CHAMPAIGN COUNTY — A judge has dismissed charges against St. Paris Police Chief Eric Smith who was arrested at a county fair in August.

Monday a Champaign County Municipal Court judge ruled that Smith’s case be “dismissed without prejudice to future action.”

News Center 7 previously reported that on Aug. 4 deputies working at the Champaign County Fairgrounds were advised that Eric Smith, the St. Paris Police Chief, was open carrying a firearm with his police badge while off-duty, according to a spokesperson for the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office.

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Deputies located Smith and told him to return his firearm to his vehicle or to leave the fair, the spokesperson said.

Smith reportedly refused and said that he was not going to return his firearm to his vehicle and was going to continue carrying while at the fair.

Shortly after, Smith was spotted by other deputies and was still openly carrying his firearm and his badge.

Smith was then arrested and trespassed for the remainder of the fair, the spokesperson said.

He pleaded not guilty to charges of obstructing official business and criminal trespassing.

St. Paris Mayor Susan Price previously told News Center 7 that “the Chief has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.”

We are working to learn if Smith is still on leave and what the next steps are.

We will continue providing updates as we learn more.

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