A trooper’s right to shoot an armed man during a confrontation was debated Tuesday in a district court during a hearing for a man accused of pointing a rifle in the direction of troopers called to his home after a dispute between neighbors.

However, charges in the case against Joshua Campbell held, and the case will now move forward to Butler County Common Pleas Court.

The 44-year-old Summit Township man, who is free on $75,000 bail, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony assault and other charges during a preliminary hearing before District Judge Lewis Stoughton.

Campbell was arrested May 22 after state police said they went to the neighborhood on the 900 block of Bonniebrook Road around 2 p.m. for a reported altercation between two next-door neighbors.

The complaining neighbor claimed the defendant brandished a gun.

Troopers said Campbell pointed a gun at them, but on Tuesday trooper Michael Lewis conceded a gun was never pointed at him when he responded to the call. The concession was made during cross examination from Campbell’s lawyer, Joel Hills.

Assistant District Attorney David Beichner is prosecuting the case.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that appeared in Thursday’s Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.