A federal jury ruled in favor of two state police troopers at the Butler barracks in a civil case alleging they used excessive force when they arrested a Brady Township man in August 2017 on a warrant for growing two marijuana plants outside of his home two years earlier.

Federal Magistrate Judge Maureen P. Kelly granted a defense motion that removed a third trooper as a defendant.

At the conclusion of a four-day trial in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, the jury ruled Thursday that Cpl. Gregory Bogan and Trooper Nathan Spangler did not use excessive force in violation of Danny Pollock's Fourth Amendment rights. The jury also ruled that neither officer committed assault or battery.

On Wednesday, Kelly granted a defense motion that removed Trooper Matthew Kephart as a defendant in the case. Deputy Attorney General John Senich represented all three officers. Senich could not be reached for comment.

“We were, of course, disappointed in the defense verdict because we thought we had a substantial case,” said Butler attorney Al Lindsay, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Danny Pollock and his wife, Sheri Pollock. “But we're gratified that they got their story out and people can hear what occurred.”

The case had its beginnings on July 29, 2015, when a National Guard helicopter conducting aerial surveillance in the area of the Pollocks' home on Muddy Creek Drive located one marijuana plant in the backyard and notified state police.

Trooper Michael Lewis went to the home where Danny Pollock told him there were two plants growing in the yard, and his wife used marijuana to ease the pain she experienced daily as a result of a motorcycle accident, according to the suit.

Pollock said his wife was allergic to the narcotics and other pain medication she had been prescribed in the past.

Lewis seized both plants that were sent to a lab for analysis. The suit says police harvested 0.2 grams, the weight of a rain drop, of marijuana from the plants.

On Aug. 9, 2017, Danny Pollock suffered a heart attack. He had a stent placed in an artery at Butler Memorial Hospital. He had a history of cardiovascular disease and had triple bypass surgery in 2006, according to the suit.

Twelve days later on Aug. 21, Bogan, Spangler and Kephart arrived at Pollocks' home to arrest him on a warrant.

After Spangler placed a handcuff on Pollock's left wrist, the Pollocks said they told the troopers that Danny Pollock recently suffered a heart attack, had a stent put in one of his heart arteries and was disoriented and confused due to the medication he was taking. They said the troopers needed to be careful in arresting him.

As Spangler continued handcuffing Danny Pollock, his wife reiterated the seriousness of his condition, according to the suit. After Bogan allegedly responded using an expletive, Danny Pollock became upset and began breathing heavily.

The Pollocks argued that troopers allegedly tackled Danny Pollock, causing his face to hit a porch swing, breaking two of his teeth and damaging his right eye. The couple accused the officers of striking Pollock while handcuffing him on the ground.

During a pretrial deposition hearing in October 2020, Bogan testified that Pollock broke his right hand free from Spangler's grasp and attempted to punch Bogan.

Bogan said Spangler regained control of Pollock's arm, but Pollock pushed him into a wall. As all three troopers wrestled on the ground with Pollock to control his right arm, Sheri Pollock began yelling that her husband had a heart attack 10 or 11 days ago, Bogan said.

The troopers told Pollock that if he didn't stop, they would Taser him. Pollock stopped fighting, and the troopers were able to arrest him and take him to a hospital, Bogan said.