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Texas, McAllen - A Mission man says in a lawsuit that police officers entered his property and assaulted him, but city officials maintain his claims are baseless.

John Kenneth Snider claims that on Dec. 19, "four or five police officers from the Mission Police Department made a warrantless and unauthorized entry" into his home, according to a lawsuit he filed in July against Mission city officials.

Snider claims once inside his home, police officers "immediately began to assault, beat and strike" him.

Attempts to reach Snider and his lawyer, Rodney Sipes of Edinburg, were unsuccessful last week.

Snider was indicted in February on one count of assault on a public servant. He was later convicted of the charge in the 139th state District Court, where he was sentenced to two years of probation. Whether the charge and conviction stem from the same incident is not clear in court papers and could not be confirmed last week.

The lawsuit names Mission police Chief Martin Garza as the man responsible for the actions of "unnamed officers" and asks for unspecified damages.

Garza told The Monitor he was not at Snider's house during the alleged incident, but he is familiar with the lawsuit and stands by his officers.

"I believe our officers acted within reason and within department policy," Garza said. "I have no reason to doubt the integrity of my officers."

Bobby Guerra, who is representing the city in the civil case, said he expects the lawsuit to be dismissed.

"We have looked at the evidence and we can't see where the Police Department did anything wrong," Guerra said.

Guerra filed a motion to move the case to federal court, which handles claims about violations of the U.S. Constitution - like those in Snider's lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, once Snider was in handcuffs, the police officers boasted over the beating and took him to "the Mission Police Department and subsequently, Hidalgo County Jail, where he spent more than 30 days under incarceration."

The lawsuit states neither the reason for the officers' presence at the residence nor the charge that Snider faced after detention.

In a formal response filed in the case, Guerra's law firm disputed Snider's claims and denied any wrongdoing on behalf of the Police Department.

The reply states that police officers arrived at the residence "in response to an emergency call or in reaction to an emergency situation, in compliance with applicable laws and ordinances," and that if he was hurt, he did it himself.