BUTLER ― The man who was hit by a car driven by then-Butler Mayor Wesley Dingus on July 11, 2025 has filed a federal lawsuit against the Village of Butler, Police Chief Eric Winbigler, Tiffany Dingus and other officials.
The lawsuit seeks 23 claims for relief and was filed by Anthony Ward and his grandmother Mary Ward by attorneys at Weston Hurd of Cleveland in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.
Dingus is no longer the mayor.
In February, Butler Village Council voted unanimously 5-0 to accept the resignation of the embattled mayor.
Last summer Dingus, 48, was arrested for running over a man who fled from police, then charged in February with voyeurism for smelling a girl’s underwear.
Dingus resigned from his position Feb. 23, writing a note to Village Solicitor John Studenmund, which said, “Effective immediately I, Wesley Dingus, resign as Village of Butler mayor, NOT under stress but under duress. (signed) Wesley Dingus 2/23/26.”
He was arrested Aug. 17, 2025 on a charge of aggravated assault and vehicular assault.
Along with the fourth-degree felonies, he was also charged with falsification (a first-degree misdemeanor) and dereliction of duty (a second-degree misdemeanor), according to the indictment.
The Bellville Police Department released bodycam footage of what Dingus said after the incident. The man who was struck had an active warrant out for his arrest.
After July 11, video surfaced of a red car driven by Mayor Dingus striking a man twice as the man fled from Butler police. The footage showed Dingus exiting his car and fist-bumping someone in the village on Ohio 95. Released 911 tapes included the grandmother of the man asking dispatch to send a sheriff’s deputy, not a police officer, to the scene because “they are the ones that ran him over.”
Attorneys for Ward and his grandmother said in court documents that the Butler police chief shoved his grandmother to the ground, causing her serious and permanent physical injuries, emotional distress and other damages.
“Further, while Ms. (Ward) was trying to help her grandson while he was under the mayor’s vehicle, Tiffany Dingus grabbed (her) with both hands and violently shook her,” the suit alleged.
The lawsuit alleges the police chief told Ward, “You’re a violent criminal and I could shoot you right now” (and) “I could kill you right now and get away with it,” or something similar.
The lawsuit alleged excessive use of force, a violation of Ward’s constitutional rights, negligence and failure to intervene to stop Dingus.
“While Ward screamed in pain, Chief Winbigler placed his knee and full weight upon Ward’s broken left leg, inducing even more excruciating pain,” according to the lawsuit. It was only after a Bellville police officer ordered Winbigler off of Ward’s leg that he got off Ward.
The lawsuit claimed serious and permanent physical injuries for Ward and his grandmother, along with economic and non-economic losses. Lawyers also claimed physical and psychic injuries that are ongoing and permanent, with pain and disability into the indefinite future.
A jury trial is requested.
John Studenmund, attorney for the Village of Butler, did not return a call seeking comment.
Contact Lou Whitmire at 419-521-7223. She can be reached on X at @lwhitmir.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Man ran over by Butler mayor files federal lawsuit against village
Reporting by Lou Whitmire, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Lou Whitmire, Mansfield News Journal | USA TODAY Network
