A Coventry Township trustee is suing two Summit County sheriff’s officials, accusing them of misconduct and using excessive force during an arrest in November 2015.
Trustee Richard Kutuchief is seeking more than $25,000 in compensatory and punitive damages against Capt. Richard Armsey and deputy Robert Sombati.
The 13-page lawsuit was filed late last month in Summit County Common Pleas Court.
Kutuchief, 64, was arrested on Election Day while riding his motorcycle and taking photographs in the township.
Armsey, who was in plain clothes and not in a marked cruiser, approached Kutuchief and demanded to know why he was taking photos, the lawsuit says.
When Kutuchief, who was running for trustee at the time, took out a cellphone and said he was going to take video of the encounter, Armsey took Kutuchief to the ground with a leg sweep and then slammed him onto the car, the suit says.
Sombati later arrived at the scene.
Kutuchief was charged with obstructing official business and resisting arrest. The obstruction charge was later dismissed and a jury found him not guilty of the other charge.
Kutuchief claimed in the lawsuit that he has suffered long-term physical and emotional injuries.
The Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the suit.