Former Lawrence County inmate filed a federal lawsuit against the county sheriff, Jeff Lawless, has just been settled through arbitration proceedings. Lawless was unable to make detailed comments on the settlement, but did tell the local paper he was happy the issue has been settled and that is over and everyone can move forward.

The lawsuit began in early 2015 when a civil suit in US District Court, Southern District of Ohio against Lawless filed by Larry Kinstler of Ironton. The lawsuit also included Jeff Hitchcock, the chief deputy, and jailers Ronald Hatfield and Jeremy Hanshaw, as well as a former corrections officer named Jason Mays.

Kinstler was seeking damages over an alleged violation of his constitutional rights while he was an inmate. There were also three officers at the center of the criminal case, but those officers were exonerated in 2015 following a federal jury trial.

The suit came after Kinstler’s August 2014 arrest on the last day of the Rally on the River. He was charged by the Ohio State Highway Patrol for Ironton Police for disorderly conduct by intoxication. That case was dismissed in Ironton Municipal Court later that month because it was not filed on time.

After the events related to the arrest, Kinstler filed his civil suit, hoping to recover damages because of how he was treated during the events. Instead of proceeding to court, where the dismissal of the criminal case would have likely played a role, all parties were able to settle the dispute through mediation