A Limerick man who was punched in the face by a state trooper while handcuffed has filed a federal lawsuit against the Maine State Police, the state of Maine and three officers involved in his 2024 arrest.

In a civil lawsuit filed Sept. 18 in the U.S. District Court of Maine, Justin Savage and his girlfriend, Shawna Morse, say state police assaulted them and violated their state and federal civil rights while wrongfully arresting them.

They say state troopers’ treatment of Savage during his arrest on March 16, 2024, was “extreme, outrageous, violent, excessive, unlawful, tortious and unnecessary” and left him with severe physical and psychological injuries.

A statement released by Maine State Police spokesperson Shannon Moss on Tuesday says the agency had appropriately reviewed the incident and found that the officers’ response was justified.

“The suspect’s lack of cooperation and resistance to being detained precipitated the events that followed,” state police officials said in the statement. “No force would have been used had the suspect been compliant and no one, including the officers, would have been injured.”

Savage and Morse faced several charges, including assault on an officer, all of which were dropped earlier this year.

Savage and Morse are seeking more than $100 million in damages, according to their attorney.

An investigation by The Maine Monitor and Bangor Daily News showed the incident in Limerick began calmly but escalated after troopers threw Savage to the ground. While Savage was handcuffed on the ground, a trooper punched him in the face.

Savage, 42, did not pose any threat to the troopers while he was restrained and assaulted, the lawsuit says, but trooper Jamie Fenderson punched Savage in the face repeatedly, even though he was in a hooded spit mask, handcuffs and leg restraints and at times was being held to the ground by multiple officers.

Savage, who suffered a broken nose and severe bruising, said in the lawsuit that defendants Sgt. Adam Schmidt and Detective Anna Ritland did not intervene or stop Fenderson from beating him.

Maine State Police say they detained Savage while responding to a report that he had assaulted his girlfriend. Savage became combative and had injured two officers during the struggle, according to the statement provided by Moss.

State police officials say responding to domestic violence incidents is “dangerous, dynamic and often (comes) with unpredictable challenges.”

The agency’s Office of Professional Standards reviewed multiple videos and reports from the incident, according to the statement. The office determined the use of force “was lawful, justified and proper based on the circumstances resulting in exonerating the officers,” officials said in the statement.

The Monitor/BDN investigation found that state police misrepresented what happened that night, incorrectly blaming Savage for breaking a sergeant’s ankle and accusing him of biting another officer in an attempt to escape custody.

When Savage’s girlfriend filed a formal excessive force complaint, agency leadership assigned the matter to the troopers’ supervisor instead of internal affairs. In the middle of a second review of the incident, Fenderson was promoted to corporal — his first promotion in 16 years on the job, the Monitor/BDN reported.

The three officers did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

The Maine Office of the Attorney General said early Tuesday afternoon that it had not been served with the complaint yet and could not comment further until that happens.

“That the Maine State Police cleared its officers of all wrongdoing, and even promoted the worst offender, is shocking and evidences a callous disregard for the rule of law and corruption at the highest levels,” the plaintiffs’ attorney, Jeffrey Bennett, said in a written statement. “The Maine State Police will be held to account. Institutional changes at the Maine State Police are necessary.”

Maine State Police should not conduct their own reviews of misconduct, Bennett said in a phone interview Tuesday. He said he’s disappointed that the agency has not accepted responsibility for the assault.

Bennett said Savage and Morse are feeling disillusioned.

“This is a very hard, difficult time for them,” he said. “They also recognize at the same time that the only way they can effect change in the state is to stand firm, so they are doing that with us.”

Savage was charged with two counts of assault, assault on an officer, refusing to submit to arrest and obstructing government administration, while Morse was charged with resisting arrest. All criminal charges against them were dropped earlier this year.

The complaint claims that Morse was wrongly arrested and continues to suffer from “extreme prolonged and severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma” from the incident and the false statements about it published online.

The lawsuit claims that police falsified reports, concealed or destroyed evidence, and defamed Savage and Morse by releasing inaccurate information about the incident.

Savage and Morse have requested a jury trial.