Attorney: Police used ‘necessary’ force during arrest

March 18, 2015 5:54 pm

By The Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) _ The attorney for three Providence police officers accused in a lawsuit of using excessive force against a Pawtucket man in 2010 says they’re well-trained professionals, but the man’s attorney says they were retaliating against him.

Testimony began Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Providence.

Michael Costa’s lawsuit accuses Stephen Rasch, Robert Papa, Jr. and Margaret Schlageter of using excessive force and violating his rights, as well as false imprisonment, assault and battery and invasion of privacy.

Attorney Michael Colucci says his clients used “reasonable and necessary” force to arrest Costa after he refused to leave an unruly scene at a Providence bar.

Costa’s attorney John Reilly says the officers threw him against a car and later hit him with a flashlight for threatening to report the officers for kicking away a bystander’s cell phone.