NEWTON FALLS - Police have sent an assault complaint involving the city law director to the Sheriff's Office.

Police Chief John Kuivila said city resident Jim Luonuansuu's complaint that he was pushed by Law Director Rick Schwartz cannot be sent to acting prosecutor Joe Vingle because Schwartz is his boss. He submitted the report to the sheriff's department and was not sure how long their investigation could take.

Schwartz, who is accused of pushing Luonuansuu in the hallway of the administration building following a heated meeting of city council, said on Wednesday that he could not comment on the accusation.

"I always respected Jim (Luonuansuu's) work as a dispatcher and with the 911 issue. I'm surprised to learn he's complaining of an injury," the law director said.

After the alleged attack, Luonuansuu said he went to St. Joseph Health Center Emergency Room with a complaint of neck pain. He claimed the push knocked him off balance but did not make him fall. According to discharge records, he left the emergency room about half an hour after he said he was on his way. The records state that he had been diagnosed with neck strain, and that any pain he feels could last for the next few days.

According to the record, Luonuansuu was prescribed 12 doses of Flexeril for muscle spasms, and he was advised to apply warm, moist heat to his neck for about 20 minutes at least four times a day.

City Council held a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss Newton Falls safety forces and issues related to the 911 lawsuit against the county. Luonuansuu was upset about a rumor that Schwartz heard an offer from a county prosecutor to settle the case. According to Luonuansuu, and later Mayor Pat Layshock, assistant county prosecutor James Saker said the county may be willing to pay back $45,000 the city spent on upgrades to its 911 dispatch center if they would drop a lawsuit over how the county plans to spend surcharges collected from county residents' cell phone bills.

Neither Saker nor Schwartz would comment on the offer, and Schwartz said Tuesday that there was no offer on the table for the city. Layshock claimed the law director asked him for an executive session regarding the offer at a council meeting June 15.

The offer was troubling to Luonuansuu because Schwartz is not the attorney representing the communities in the class-action suit. Layshock said he didn't have an opinion on the offer to share publicly because he doesn't want to speak for the other litigants, which include Newton Falls, Liberty, Niles, Girard and Lordstown.

Luonuansuu claims that after the public comments session of the meeting, during which he accused the law director of doing a poor job, he was confronted by Schwartz in the hallway. He claimed that Schwartz swore at him and pushed him.

Luonuansuu was at the meeting, speaking as a city resident. He is a vocal proponent of the eight community dispatching centers and he is also a dispatcher with Lordstown.

brodgers@tribtoday.com