The guardians of a mentally ill man assaulted by a McDonough police officer nearly five years ago are suing the city. The lawsuit, filed last week in Henry County Superior Court, alleges the former officer, Travis G. Wells, used excessive force when he hit Calvin E. Brown, 47, several times with a metal baton and squirted pepper spray into his face. The incident was recorded by a video camera mounted on the officer's vehicle. "There was no call for that," Brown's attorney, Bruce Millar, said of the assault. McDonough City Attorney Scott Bennett said "we don't think the city has any liability." The law firm representing the city's insurance company will represent McDonough in the lawsuit. Millar argues that the Police Department should have known the officer would use excessive force on citizens. Millar did not state how much money they're seeking from the city. Brown's representatives asked for $1 million in a federal court lawsuit filed in September 2003. Last September, a judge ruled in favor of the city on Brown's claims that his federal constitutional rights were violated. The judge dismissed without prejudice Brown's complaint that his state constitutional rights were violated, allowing Brown's guardians to take their claims to Henry County's court system. Wells' encounter with Brown began Sept. 11, 2001, when he spotted the man drinking a beer on someone's property. Before leaving, Wells warned Brown he would arrest him if he saw Brown drunk in public. Wells saw Brown later that evening and assaulted him while making an arrest, the lawsuit says.  Wells quit the McDonough Police Department three months after the incident and was sentenced to 12 months' probation on an aggravated assault charge for the Brown incident. [more]