A Summit Township man’s federal civil suit claiming false arrest and use of excessive force against a state police trooper has been settled through mediation.

The suit was filed last year by Jacob Campbell following the arrest of his father Joshua Campbell at their township home in May 2020. The settlement agreement was added to the case record, but was sealed by Judge Lisa Pupo Lenihan of U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh.

Campbell filed the suit against troopers Timothy Morando and Michael Lewis, but Judge Nora Barry Fischer dismissed all claims against Morando in April, leaving Lewis as the only defendant.

Fischer transferred the case to Lenihan in May for the mediation process, and the settlement was reached in June.

State police and Campbell’s attorney, Timothy O’Brien, could not be reached for comment. The attorney general’s office, which represented the troopers, referred questions to state police. Joshua Campbell declined to comment. Jacob Campbell could not be reached for comment.

Jacob Campbell was 17 years old on May 22, 2020, when police responded to his home following a 911 call about an argument between his father and a neighbor. Police arrested Joshua Campbell and placed him in a police vehicle in handcuffs, according to the suit.

After watching the arrest from their porch, Jacob Campbell and a younger sibling walked into the house and were followed by troopers, who were not given consent to enter, according to the suit.

After Jacob Campbell asked Morando several questions about his father being taken into custody, the teen said he wanted to go to his room. Morando asked him what was in his room. Campbell said there was a bed, desk, PlayStation and dresser in the room, and took a couple of steps toward the room, according to the suit.

Campbell said he heard Morando say something to the other troopers and then Lewis tackled him to the floor and put his knee on his back, according to the suit.

Campbell said Lewis yanked his arms backward, placed him in handcuffs, picked him up by his arms, walked him through the house and pushed him into a screen door to open it, breaking the door, according to the suit. He said his back and shoulder were injured.

Campbell said he asked if he was under arrest, and Lewis said he wasn’t. He said he asked for the handcuffs to be removed, and Lewis said “you are under arrest for being an (expletive),” according to the suit.

After about five minutes in the back of the police vehicle, Campbell said his shoulder began to bother him, and he began to wiggle to get comfortable. Someone outside the vehicle yelled at him and asked what he was trying to do and what was in his pockets. He said he then was yanked from the vehicle, thrown against its side and searched, according to the suit.

He said he eventually was released from the vehicle and the handcuffs were removed.

Police charged Joshua Campbell with two felony counts of aggravated assault and two misdemeanor counts each of terroristic threats and simple assault. Police said he pointed an AR-15 rifle in their direction during their response to the incident involving his neighbor. According to a Butler Eagle article, troopers conceded during a June 2020 preliminary hearing that a gun was not pointed at them.

District Judge Lewis Stoughton held the charges for court, but no references or documents about the case are available through the state’s online judicial record portal. The charges against Joshua Campbell were dropped, and his record was expunged.