Anthony Howard has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Lynchburg for $1.2 million and $800,000 in damages.<\/p>\n
He stated that he attended an event at the university on June 28, 2009 with his family. During the event he became separated from one of his sons and had to grab the boy by the shirt to keep him from walking away \u2014 he was upset because he had lost track of the teen. Then someone reported a child was being handled roughly by an adult. Officers found Howard and determined the boy was his son. Howard was placed under arrest, charged with obstructing justice, then tried to fight with the officers. Although he was handcuffed, Howard continued to try to kick at the officers, and was sprayed with pepper spray.<\/p>\n
Howard filed as both civil rights claims and common-law claims.<\/p>\n