KINSMAN–The plaintiff in a $4.5 million lawsuit against Cory Van Kanegan, who recently resigned as Kinsman fire chief, is seeking a summary judgment in the U.S. Northern District Court of Ohio federal case.

Attorney David Engler filed the motion Monday on behalf of his client, Jordan Aulizio, whose federal lawsuit claims his constitutional rights were violated when Van Kanegan administered the opioid reversal drug Narcan against the plaintiff’s will.

The case originates from Aulizio’s arrest on July 7, after a customer at a Kinsman Dollar General reported him being passed out in the store. Aulizo disputes the claim and said he had fallen asleep as a result of being dehydrated. When then fire chief, Van Kanegan, arrived alongside emergency medical staff, Aulizo said he had already regained consciousness and was standing outside the store.

In an alleged confrontation, the suit states Van Kanegan accused Aulizio of drug use, which he denied. The court document states as things escalated, Aulizio said the fire chief became “belligerent and insulting,” prompting him to walk away.

In the lawsuit, Engler claims Van Kanegan infringed on Aulizio’s freedom of movement in ordering him to stay seated on the curb as the attorney further alleged Van Kanegan had thrown Aulizio to the ground, slapped him, and forced him take Narcan while using derogatory language toward him.

Aulizio is seeking $750,000 in punitive damages and economic damages in the amount of at least $250,000; compensatory damages of no less than $500,00, in relation to the three allegations along with court costs and attorney fees.

In February, Aulizio was sentenced by Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Cynthia Rice, to three years probation after he was arrested by Kinsman Township police and charged following the incident with Van Kanegan on two counts of assault, obstruction, and resisting arrest.

The charges were later amended after he pleaded guilty to obstructing and resisting arrest. Before then, in December, Aulizio had been arrested by Warren police on a felony drug possession charge but a grand jury in mid-March declined to indict him.