Salem officer, Perry settle

LISBON -- A Salem police officer has settled his civil lawsuit against Perry Township in connection with his 1999 arrest.
The settlement in the Columbiana County Common Pleas Court case was reached last week, Perry Township Trustee Jeff Hochadel said today. A trial in the matter was to have started Monday.
Hochadel would not disclose the settlement amount, noting that the sides had entered into a confidentiality agreement. The township's insurance will pay the settlement, Hochadel said.
Patrolman Gary Poage filed the lawsuit in January 2000 against the township and its trustees, the township police chief and the township officer who arrested Poage.
He was charged with misdemeanor counts of aggravated menacing, criminal damaging and using a weapon while intoxicated.
The case went to trial, and the judge dismissed the case.
After the dismissal, Poage filed the civil lawsuit, arguing that his name and reputation were damaged by the criminal case, which he said the police brought against him falsely and maliciously.
He sought $803,000 in damages.
Judge David Tobin dismissed the case in February 2001, saying Poage failed to prove that township police acted wrongly.
Poage appealed the dismissal to the 7th District Court of Appeals, which in December 2001 reversed the dismissal and handed the case back to common pleas court.