REMERTON — The mayor, police chief and city council of Remerton have been removed from a federal lawsuit filed by a man who claimed a police officer slapped him in a case of mistaken identity.

The lawsuit, filed by Nicholas Paige July 6, 2020, named Police Chief Mike Terrell, former police officer James A. Stokes Jr., the Remerton Police Department, Mayor Cornelius Holsendolph, city councilmembers Bill Wetherington, Jasen Tatum, Steve Kofler and Brandy Barnes, and the City of Remerton as defendants.

In a motion filed Sept. 17, 2020, Terrell, Holsendolph, the council members and the police department asked to be dismissed from the lawsuit.

Paige claims in the lawsuit he woke up to officers aiming guns and flashlights at him at 3 a.m., Sept. 6, 2019. Paige said officers told him they entered his home through a downstairs window.

Paige said Stokes told him he was under arrest but called him by the wrong name. In the lawsuit, Paige said police allowed him to get his identification from his car but kept him restrained in handcuffs.

The lawsuit claims when Paige questioned why he was being detained, an officer slapped him in the face. A reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times reviewed police body cam footage of the incident provided by Remerton’s city attorney, which did not appear to show any slapping.

The officers eventually left but kept a watch on Paige, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit claims excessive force, lack of training and unconstitutional search and seizure against the defendants.

The city and Stokes claimed in a formal response they are shielded by sovereign immunity and disputed many of Paige’s claims.

In their 2020 filing, the mayor, the chief and the council members claimed:

— That the Remerton Police Department is “a non-legal entity incapable of being sued.” The motion cites case histories to show the police department is merely a division of the overall city government through which the city’s policing functions are carried out, “and therefore, it should be dismissed.”

— That by suing both council members and the police chief in their official capacities and the City of Remerton overall, the plaintiff was needlessly duplicating efforts

— That the lawsuit does not claim the mayor or council members were guilty of any wrongdoing. “(The plaintiff) merely names them at the beginning of the complaint and does not mention them again, much less allege how their conduct caused or contributed to Plaintiff’s alleged injuries and damages.”

In an order issued Sept. 28, 2021, the federal court for the Middle District of Georgia granted the motion to remove the mayor, police chief and city council members from the lawsuit. The court also said there was no reason to ignore precedent that “Sheriff’s departments and police departments are not usually considered legal entities subject to suit,” the order said.

Lawyers for both sides had not returned messages to The Times as of Friday afternoon.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.