A lawsuit filed against Lancaster Township and its former police chief has been resolved, with the township's insurance company paying $75,000 to a man who claimed excessive force was used in an October 2016 arrest.

The agreement was reached through mediation on March 19, and was executed on March 28, according to court records.

Following a Right-to-Know request by the Butler Eagle, Lancaster Township released the terms of the agreement, stating that the lawsuit will now be dismissed.

“The General Release is a compromise of disputed claims and shall not in any way be construed as an admission by Defendants or any of the Released Parties of wrongdoing with respect to the Plaintiff or any other person ... Plaintiff understands that Defendants specifically disclaim any liability to, or any wrongful acts against, Plaintiff or any other person, and are paying the consideration herein solely to avoid the cost of litigation and at the request of the insurance company,” the release states.

Lancaster Township manager Benjamin Kramer said the municipality will be responsible for paying a $2,500 deductible in this case, with the bulk of the settlement funds coming from the insurance provider.

Ryan Breen, the attorney representing Lancaster resident Kent Bowers, said last week while the agreement was being finalized that they are “very pleased to have come to a resolution this early in the game.”

In a lawsuit Bowers filed in federal court last November, he accused former Lancaster Township Police Chief David Sitler of using excessive force during Bowers' arrest, falsely arresting and imprisoning him, prosecuting him without probable cause and malicious prosecution on Oct. 6, 2016, following an incident at Bowers' home on Scott Ridge Road, Harmony.

On Monday, Bowers said in a phone interview that “I thought it was too little for the action that was taken by the officer” and the agreement was settled by a “cheap insurance company that wouldn't give me any more money.”

When asked why he agreed with the settlement instead of taking it to trial as was originally demanded, he said: “My attorney was satisfied, I was satisfied, it is time to move on.”

The lawsuit also alleged 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.

During the incident, the lawsuit stated, Bowers was found barricaded in the home. Officers entered before he “surrendered to the officers peacefully without incident,” was handcuffed and placed in the back of a patrol car. The lawsuit alleged 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 after “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.

The physical contact between Sitler and Bowers takes place over 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.

Breen said the video “speaks for itself.”

Bowers was then taken to the hospital and “treated for his injuries inflicted by Sitler,” the lawsuit states.

The township and Sitler denied the allegations, stating that Bowers was already placed in handcuffs when Sitler arrived at the location, Bowers was not in the vehicle for an hour, Sitler did not ignore pleas to loosen the cuffs and that “the video footage of the interaction between defendant and plaintiff speaks for itself.”

Sitler's response acknowledged that Bowers was taken to the hospital, but for a psychiatric evaluation, not for injuries.

Bowers was then charged with felony aggravated assault of an officer, after Sitler asserted in a criminal complaint that Bowers wrapped his legs around him and grabbed him by the vest — something Bowers' lawsuit points out is impossible while in handcuffs.

The lawsuit 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,” as well as accusing 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.

“In a lot of these cases the officer remains employed while these things are investigated, and in this case he was put on administrative leave shortly after and after an investigation he was terminated,” Breen said in a phone interview Monday. “A lot of these cases are very highly contested.