EVANSVILLE — An Owensboro, Kentucky, man has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Evansville Police Department and three of its officers, alleging they used excessive force during his 2024 arrest on narcotics charges by deploying a police dog against him while he lay compliant on the ground.
The suit, brought by 37-year-old Jeffery Mayes in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in February, names the City of Evansville and EPD Officers John Montgomery, Nathan Pitt and Seth Gorman as defendants. It comes roughly one year after Mayes was sentenced in Vanderburgh Superior Court for the underlying narcotics charge, one count of dealing in methamphetamine, and nearly two years after the arrest at the center of his claims.
In a seven-page complaint, Mayes’ attorney, Jeremy Schnepper, described the conduct of the officers who arrested Mayes on Feb. 27, 2024, as “excessive force.” Mayes is seeking compensation and a court order to reform Evansville Police Department policy…