PITTSBURGH — A lawsuit against Lancaster Township and its former police chief, David Sitler, was filed on Nov. 20 in U.S. District Court by a man who claims Sitler assaulted him, resulting in the chief's termination from the township's police force.

In the lawsuit, Kent Bowers of Lancaster Township accuses Sitler of using excessive force during his arrest in 2016, falsely arresting and imprisoning him, prosecuting without probable cause and malicious prosecution.

Bowers was arrested on Oct. 6, 2016, following an incident at his home on Scott Ridge Road.

The lawsuit also alleges the township failed to properly train, supervise and discipline Sitler, which resulted in the assault and battery and false imprisonment of Bowers after police were called to his home.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages from the township and punitive damages from Sitler.

Township solicitor Phil Lope confirmed on Tuesday that the incident between Sitler and Bowers caused Sitler's termination from the township's police force on Oct. 28, 2016.

The lawsuit says Sitler and other officers responded to a call at Bowers' home, during which Bowers' wife told police he had a history of mental illness, was intoxicated and behaving erratically.

Police forcibly entered the home after Bowers initially refused to come out, according to the lawsuit. The officers handcuffed Bowers without incident and placed him in the back of a patrol car.

The suit alleges that Sitler intentionally overtightened the handcuffs, causing Bowers “severe pain and discomfort.”

While Bowers waited in the patrol car officers began the process to transport Bowers to Butler Memorial Hospital for a psychological evaluation.

After nearly one hour in the police car, the suit says, Bowers tried to get Sitler's attention first by banging his head and then by kicking the window.

“Sitler ignored (Bower's) pleas to loosen the cuffs, but instead engaged (Bowers) verbally, during which time (Bowers) insulted Sitler for being overweight,” the suit claims.

Sitler is accused of then tackling Bowers across the rear seat, punching him in the ribs five or six times and choking Bowers around the neck for several seconds “to the point where (Bowers) was nearly unconscious.”

When a Zelienople police officer opened the opposite backseat car door, Sitler released his grip on Bowers' throat and got out of the car.

Videotape from the patrol car provided by Bowers' attorney, Ryan Breen, appears to show the events described in the lawsuit. The video does not have sound, and does not show how long Bowers had been sitting in the vehicle before being confronted by Sitler.

<div class="youtube"><iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vu4AFW-Xry0?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

The physical contact between Sitler and Bowers takes place over the course of about 30 seconds, after which Bowers is removed from the police car. The video does not show any interactions between Bowers, Sitler, or anyone else outside of the vehicle.The suit said Bowers was taken to the hospital and “treated for his injuries inflicted by Sitler” after the confrontation.After the incident, Sitler proceeded to file a criminal complaint against Bowers, charging him with aggravated assault of an officer, which is a felony.Sitler claimed in the complaint that Bowers wrapped his legs around him and grabbed him by the vest — something the suit points out is impossible while in handcuffs.The suit alleges that Sitler's assault caused Bowers “severe and permanent physical and emotional injuries requiring medical treatment together with medical expenses” plus “loss of health and vitality, pain and suffering and humiliation.”The suit accuses the township of not appropriately disciplining the “offending officers” in the incident, deliberate indifference to the complaints of citizens regarding alleged improper actions by its police officers and failure to train and supervise its officers,Sitler could not be reached for comment Tuesday.Charles Saul, the attorney defending the township, refused to comment on allegations laid out in the lawsuit, or on the contents of the videotape.Sitler was recently named in another lawsuit, in which he is accused of causing a family emotional distress, invading their privacy and violating their Fourth Amendment rights through illegal search and seizure.That suit alleges Sitler was asked by a business owner to “keep an eye” on a family and then proceeded to pull the family's teenage daughter out of class to embarrass her, sit in the family's driveway to intimidate them and behave aggressively toward the mother and daughter who came to the police station to ask Sitler to stop harassing them.The suit says Sitler became so enraged that he broke the township municipal building's door off the hinges as the mother and daughter left.That suit was filed on Nov. 1 also in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh.