RENO, Nev. (AP) - A Reno man has sued several law enforcement
officers, alleging they used excessive force against him at a Neal McCoy concert in Yerington in July 2006.

In his suit filed June 24 in U.S. District Court in Reno, Cody Herbst claims two Yerington police officers and two Lyon County sheriff's deputies slammed him to the ground and knocked him unconscious after he was ordered to leave the VIP area.

"Their version is he was fighting and kicking and protesting," Herbst's attorney, Terri Keyser-Cooper, said Saturday. "That's just not credible. It's not in his background."

Named in the complaint were police officers Steven Banta and Jerry Del Giudice, deputies Joshua Barnes and Mandel Coulter, the city of Yerington and the county. The off-duty officers handled concert security.

City Attorney Charles Zumpft and District Attorney Robert Auer did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment Saturday.

Herbst, 23, obtained a wristband to enter the VIP area during the concert, but was told to leave when he tried to re-enter the VIP section after the country singer's concert without the wristband, which had fallen off, according to the complaint.

As he was walking toward the exit, Herbst was struck on the back by one of the officers, then was grabbed from behind by all four officers and knocked to the ground, the complaint alleges.

The officers are accused of shooting him multiple times with a taser gun and pepper spray. He was arrested, but the charges were later dismissed.

Jailers did not allow Herbst to take his medication for epilepsy and denied medical treatment for his head injury, the suit contends.

The complaint seeks unspecified damages.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AP-NY-07-05-08 1845EDT