COLUMBUS -- A Logan man has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Logan and two of its police officers, alleging that the officers entered his home illegally and used excessive force in arresting him.
The lawsuit by Billy J. Knisely came just two weeks after a Perry County man had sued two Logan Police officers in federal court for alleged excessive force.
Knisely's complaint, filed April 21 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, names as defendants the city and LPD officers Trent Woodgeard and Matthew Hall. It recounts an incident in September 2025, in which the officers, accompanied by a county sheriff's deputy, came to Knisely's South Mulberry Street home in response to a report that a man was slashing his girlfriend's car tires at the residence.
According to the lawsuit, after the city officers talked to the woman who had called the police they went to the front door of the home, seeking to speak with her boyfriend. However, the suit alleges, the officers had not gotten identifying information or a description of the suspect, "despite knowing that multiple adults lived at the residence." Knisely, who owned the residences, claims he came to the door with his wife beside him, and when questioned by the officers, the couple told them that Knisely was not the man they were looking for, and that that man was not at the residence.
When Knisely told the officers that he would get his wallet and show them some identification, his complaint alleges, Woodgeard responded by telling him to "go get your f---ing wallet." Knisely then "told Woodgeard not to speak to him in that manner," which allegedly prompted Hall to tell Knisely, "He is talking to you like that."
As Knisely turned to retrieve his wallet, the suit claims, he closed the front door, and Hall called him a "pussy" as Woodgeard kicked the door back open. The two officers then allegedly entered the home, and Woodgeard grabbed Knisely by the throat and held him against a wall. Though Knisely put his hands in the air, the suit alleges, Woodgeard put him in a headlock and slammed him to the ground, causing him to suffer a laceration on his forehead. Knisely was then handcuffed and told he was under arrest for obstructing.
Though EMS was called because of Knisely’s injury, he refused further medical attention or transport to the hospital, and he was taken to jail, the suit says. He was charged with obstructing official business and resisting arrest.
An LPD incident report with narratives by Hall and Woodgeard conflicts with some parts of the account in Knisely’s lawsuit. For example, the police report says Knisely refused to identify himself before his arrest, and that the officers entered Knisely’s home because they thought he might be the tire-slashing suspect, knew that that person had a knife, and were concerned that he might be going to get a firearm. It also claims Knisely resisted arrest. And where Knisely’s account says Woodgeard kicked the front door open, the police report says the officer “prevented the door from closing.”
Though the charges against Knisely were eventually dismissed at a pre-trial hearing in Hocking County Municipal Court, he claims that while the case was pending, officers came to his workplace “and mocked him,” and that he lost his job because of his arrest.
The suit further claims that the two officers received disciplinary action from the Logan Police Department for their conduct and language during the encounter with Knisely.
Knisely's lawsuit lodges claims of excessive force, unlawful entry, unlawful prosecution, First Amendment retaliation, interference with civil rights, and Monell liability, which essentially claims that the rights violations by the officers were due to an official policy, custom or practice of the police department.
Logan Police Chief Jerry Mellinger did not return a phone or email message seeking comment on the litigation.