The suit claims that the Bradley Beach, N.J., officers used unreasonable force when they arrested Healy in 2006, the Jersey Journal reported. Healy, who had been celebrating his niece's graduation from the State Police Academy in nearby Sea Girt, got involved in a confrontation outside his sister's bar when the officers responded to a call involving a couple having a fight.

Healy's lawyer, Ralph Lamparello, says that the mayor was shoved to the ground and hit with pepper spray when he tried to talk to the officers. The officers said he was drunk and tried to stop them from talking to the woman involved in the fight.

Last week, a state appeals court hear arguments about the criminal case. Healy was ordered to pay $828 in fines.

Lamparello says that police were playing on "their home court with home refs" in the criminal case. He also accuses the Bradley Beach police of having a history of excessive force.

"It's a Shore town with Shore cops," he said. "Anybody who's gone down the Shore knows what I mean."