A North Braddock man who said two police officers beat him unconscious with a flashlight at an Independence Day party in 2007 has sued the officers in federal court, claiming that the attack was unprovoked and that the officers acted with "reckless indifference."

Richard Irvin filed the suit against officers Gregory Seman and Lukas Laeuricia, the North Braddock Police Department and the borough, asking for $75,000 in damages in addition to attorney fees and punitive damages. The suit was filed May 18; at the end of June, a judge assigned the case to alternative dispute resolution, as is required for all federal civil cases. Paul Krepps, who is representing all of the defendants through the borough's insurance carrier, said he will likely file a response within the next month.

Mr. Irvin's attorney, William Goodrich, did not return calls for comment.

Mr. Irvin ultimately pleaded guilty to summary offenses of harassment, public drunkenness and disorderly conduct as a result of his July 5, 2007, arrest, but he still says the officers used excessive force when they cuffed him.

Mr. Irvin, then director of the North Braddock Heights Housing Association, said in the suit that he went to the scene of a fire outside a building in the North Braddock Heights complex early July 5. Mr. Irvin said when he was trying to speak to one of the firefighters at the scene, one of the officers struck him in the face with a flashlight, then grabbed him, threw him to the ground and handcuffed him, at which point he lost consciousness.

Mr. Irvin, who was treated by paramedics after his arrest, said he suffered multiple injuries as a result of the rough handling by police, including a broken nose, a broken cheek bone, a fracture along his eye socket and a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder that later required surgery. He said he now suffers from headaches, jaw soreness, numbness in his teeth, seizures and anxiety, which the lawsuit all attribute to his July 5 injuries.

But North Braddock Police Chief Henry Wiehagen gave a different version of the story. He said firefighters responded to a call of early-morning revelers burning fireworks boxes. When they arrived on scene, they found a rowdy crowd of 50 or 60 people, including Mr. Irvin, who appeared intoxicated and got in a verbal altercation with them. Police were called, and Officer Seman and Officer Laeuricia arrived on the scene. One of the officers tried to get between Mr. Irvin and the firefighter, and Mr. Irvin pushed the officer, the chief said. At that point, the other officer threw Mr. Irvin to the ground and arrested him.

Chief Wiehagen said that the officers were not carrying flashlights that night.

Chief Wiehagen was skeptical of Mr. Irvin's claims of injury and was frustrated by the suit, calling it frivolous. He said that if Mr. Irvin wins a settlement, it's essentially rewarding bad behavior.

"In other words, there's an award out there for breaking the law," he said.

This is the second time in two years Officer Laeuricia has been sued by someone claiming excessive force. In August, the borough and its insurance carrier paid $100,000 to Shawn Hicks. Mr. Hicks said he was zapped with a Taser while he was sleeping on his couch in July 2007, after Officer Gerald Kraly and Officer Laeuricia responded to a burglar alarm at his apartment.

But Mr. Krepps, who also represented those officers, said that no official judgment was ever entered against either officer, and Officer Kraly, not Officer Laeuricia, zapped Mr. Hicks.