HARRISBURG - A recent federal lawsuit claims an Adams County man was ambushed and falsely arrested by Lebanon County officers while trying to reconcile with his wife.
Gregory Hovis filed a lawsuit Feb. 29 against Lebanon County and several state troopers in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The lawsuit also includes Thomas S. Long, an attorney who served as the solicitor for Lebanon County during the period relevant to this case, and Dr. Samir Qasim.
Hovis says on March 1, 2022, he was attempting to reconcile with his wife, but she and her brother had tricked him into coming to Hovis' home and had alerted police to a "dangerous situation" with the goal of having Hovis arrested or killed by cops.
State troopers "physically assaulted him" and placed him in handcuffs, he says, then took him to a mental health facility against his will.
At a civil commitment hearing, Hovis says Long relied on hearsay testimony from troopers that was inconsistent with video evidence, while Qasim advocated for his continued detention.
He was committed and later released. He charges the defendants with unlawful search and seizure of his gun, false arrest, abuse of process, Monell liability, failure to supervise, failure to train, conspiracy, failure to prevent violations and aiding and abetting.
Hovis' lawyer is Jason Piatt of Piatt Law.