3 protesters sue Columbus, police

3 protesters sue Columbus, police

COLUMBUS

Three people who say they were intentionally hit in the face with pepper spray by Columbus police during a demonstration have sued the city, unnamed officers and the police chief.

The federal lawsuit filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union says police body cameras recorded officers targeting protesters. The complaint seeks unspecified damages, attorney fees and an order stopping Columbus police from using excessive force.

The lawsuit says several hundred people gathered in downtown Columbus in January for a peaceful protest of President Donald Trump’s travel ban. Police sprayed over protesters several hours into the demonstration after ordering them to disburse.

Superintendents indicted in child-rape case

BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio

A married couple, both Ohio school superintendents, have been indicted on charges stemming from sexual-assault allegations involving a girl under age 13.

Online records show 52-year-old Patrick O’Donnell and 46-year-old Heather O’Donnell, both of Lewistown, were in the Logan County Jail after their arrests Tuesday.

Patrick O’Donnell, superintendent of the Indian Lake Local Schools, was indicted on rape, sexual battery and gross sexual imposition charges. Heather O’Donnell is charged with child endangering. She’s superintendent of Midwest Regional Education Services Center in Bellefontaine.

The Springfield News-Sun reports that a police affidavit says the girl alleged Patrick O’Donnell touched her inappropriately while his wife failed to report the allegations to police.

Pacemaker data can be introduced at arson trial

HAMILTON, Ohio

A judge says data from the pacemaker of a man accused of setting his Ohio house on fire in 2016 can be presented as evidence at his trial.

The Hamilton-Middletown Journal News reports the judge ruled Tuesday in Ross Compton’s case. The 59-year-old Middletown man has pleaded not guilty to aggravated arson and insurance-fraud charges.

Police say Compton described packing belongings when he saw the fire, throwing them out of a window and carrying them to his car. Investigators say a cardiologist reviewed Compton’s cardiac device and concluded his medical condition made the actions he described “highly improbable.”

Lawmakers intend to question Manafort

WASHINGTON

The scope of congressional investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential contest came into sharper focus Wednesday as lawmakers said they intended to question the former chairman of the Trump campaign and to determine whether Russian social media “trolls” were connected to Trump’s election efforts.

The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to question former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and will subpoena him if necessary, according to the panel’s Republican chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa. He said he and the committee’s top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein of California, have agreed to try to bring Manafort before the panel for questioning about the government’s enforcement of a law requiring registration of foreign lobbyists. Feinstein’s office confirmed that they plan to question him.

Associated Press