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Logan police face another lawsuit alleging excessive force by officers
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — A lawsuit alleges Logan police illegally entered a man’s home, slammed him to the ground and arrested him because they didn’t like something he said.
This is the second lawsuit filed this month in federal court alleging Logan police used excessive force. The other lawsuit alleges officers tased a man suspected of shoplifting to get him moving because a police dog would not attack him while he was lying motionless on the ground.
The new lawsuit was filed Tuesday by Billy Knisely against officers Trent Woodgeard and Matthew Hall. He alleges the officers came to his front door looking for another man who lived in the home.
He told them he was not that man and said he would get his wallet to show identification. Woodgeard told him to “go get your f***ing wallet,” according to the lawsuit. Knisely told the officer not to talk to him like that and closed the door as he turned to get his wallet.
Hall called Knisely a “pussy” as Woodgeard kicked open the door and the two officers entered the home, according to the lawsuit.
Woodgeard grabbed Knisely by the throat and held him against a wall, the lawsuit alleges. Knisely put his hands in the air and Woodgeard placed him in a headlock and “slammed him to the ground,” resulting in a cut to Knisely’s forehead that started bleeding, according to the lawsuit.
Woodgeard told Knisely he was under arrest. Knisely said he was not swinging and that officers broke into his house, the lawsuit alleges. Hall told Knisely, “No, you ran your mouth then ran back in the house like a little bitch so let’s just solve that right now,” according to the lawsuit.
Woodgeard charged Knisely with obstructing official business and resisting arrest. Hall and Woodgeard wrote reports saying Knisely refused to identify himself and resisted arrest, the lawsuit alleges. Video evidence shows Knisely had his hands in the air and did not resist when thrown to the ground, according to the lawsuit.
Hall’s report said entering the home was necessary because of concern about a possible firearm, but no facts were listed to support this concern, according to the lawsuit.
Knisely was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing official business. While his case was pending, officers came to his workplace and mocked him, the lawsuit alleges. Knisley lost his job as a result of his arrest, the lawsuit alleges. The case against Knisely was dismissed “upon future review of evidence,” according to a court record filed by the county prosecutor’s office.
Meanwhile, Woodgeard received a three-day suspension for unprofessional language and inappropriate conduct that escalated the encounter, and Hall received verbal counseling for unprofessional language and inappropriate conduct, according to the lawsuit.
Neither officer was disciplined for what the lawsuit alleges was an unlawful arrest involving excessive force.
Knisely is seeking compensation for financial losses and pain and suffering. He’s also asking the court to prohibit the officers from retaliating against him or his friends and family for filing the lawsuit.
WOUB reached out to Logan Police Chief Jerry Mellinger for comment on the lawsuit but did not receive a response by the time this story was published.