Police allegedly yelled “Now take that, you f***ing queer” as they beat a gay Parkersburg, West Virginia man, The Charleston Gazette reported.

Timothy Michael Mazza filed a suit against three Parkersburg police officers and the city Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

Mazza claims in the suit that on October 30, 2009 he was beaten by police as he was being unlawfully arrested in his own home. Officers Nathan R. Deuley, M.W. Eichhorn and R.L. Koher are named as defendants.

In the course of questioning him about an altercation with his neighbor, police pulled Mazza to the ground as he attempted to go inside his house. He was grabbed by the neck by one of the officers and kicked in the ribs, Mazza claims.

“He kicked me in the ribs and he said, 'Now take that, you f***ing queer,” Mazza told the paper.

Charges of assault and battery on a police officer against Mazza have been dismissed by a magistrate judge.

Mazza's lawyer, John Bryan, said the incident has left his client unable to return to work.

“Both his psychologist and his treating physician kept him off work due to his physical injuries and post-traumatic stress and depression,” he said.

Both the city's police chief and mayor have denied the claims.

Mazza told the paper that he walked down the street to apologize to a neighbor after his partner, Kevin Swearingen, had yelled back at a neighbor four houses down who yelled at them to slow down when driving through the neighborhood as they returned home.

He said the neighbor accepted his apology after explaining that someone was racing around the neighborhood in a similar looking black SUV as Mazza's.

Police questioned Mazza and his partner about the incident, but Mazza became agitated when they began swearing and repeating their questions.

Mazza says he asked the officers to leave his property twice, then told them he was going inside to call his attorney.

“That's when I reached for the door and that's when they pulled me from behind and took me half-way across the deck and slammed me to the ground,” Mazza said.

Swearingen says he witnessed the beating. Mazza was hauled away to jail.

According to a police report prepared by Koher, Mazza was drunk (a point he disputes), became disorderly and hit Eichhorn in the face while being questioned.