The State Attorney’s Office has decided to drop a battery charge filed against former North Port city commissioner David Garofalo, who was arrested Dec. 15 after an alleged altercation with his girlfriend outside a Punta Gorda bar.

Garofalo, 36, deferred comment to his Tampa-based lawyer, Armando Edmiston, who said he was happy the SAO wasn’t “wasting taxpayer money” in pursuit of a criminal charge against his client.