BARNESVILLE — A local resident is asking Belmont County Western Division Court to review an affidavit seeking to file charges in connection with an incident that happened at a football game last year.

Brent Gay, a resident of Flushing who reportedly was attending the game as a Union Local High School football fan, filed an affidavit Wednesday requesting that Belmont County Western Division Court review whether there is probable cause to file charges against individuals involved in a dispute that occurred at the game.

Gay is being represented by attorneys with the Cleveland-based Chandra Law Firm LLC. It filed an affidavit that alleges that Union Local High School assistant football coach Vaughn Butler “violently attacked” a spectator during an Oct. 25 football game at Shamrock Stadium in Barnesville.

The game between the longtime rivals was the annual contest for the Milk Bucket trophy, and it ended in a 55-14 victory for Barnesville.

“Charges filed through private-citizen affidavits allege that Butler assaulted local resident Brent Gay and engaged in disorderly conduct at the event largely attended by students and their families,” Chandra Law Firm states in a news release.

However, Belmont County Assistant Prosecutor Joe Vavra said calling this action filing “charges” is inaccurate. What Gay is doing, he said, is filing an affidavit seeking to have the court review the case.

In October when the incident in question happened, the Belmont County Prosecutor’s Office reviewed evidence and the police report that was filed and determined it was not going to file charges against Butler or Gay.

Vavra said that the incident occurred at halftime of the game between Union Local and Barnesville. He said essentially what happened was that Gay was not happy with how the game was going as a fan and, when Butler came down from the press box and followed the Union Local team into the locker room, Gay confronted him. Vavra said Gay made a comment about the game and kind of got in Butler’s way, leading to what Vavra termed a minor physical altercation between the two men. He added that no punches were thrown and that the physical contact consisted essentially of shoving.

Chandra Law Firm claims, “Two law-enforcement officers, Lt. Matthew Tippie of the Barnesville Police Department and Deputy Tyler Grant of the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office, also face charges for their alleged criminal dereliction of duty, and in Grant’s case alleged obstruction of justice after the attack.”

The law firm states the affidavit filed by Gay alleges that Tippie allowed the off-duty Belmont County sheriff’s deputy Grant to hide Butler in the locker rooms and prevent him from being questioned.

No charges were requested against either one of the officers in October, according to Vavra.

Vavra said absolutely nothing criminal was done by either Tippie or Grant, and he said alleging that they acted out of line is “completely absurd.”

“They both acted completely appropriately, in my opinion, as a prosecutor,” Vavra said.

Barnesville Police Chief Rocky Siranni said Tippie obtained information and statements from the involved parties and witnesses and forwarded them to the prosecutor. Based on that information, the prosecutor’s office determined it was not going to pursue criminal charges. He added that one of the involved parties did not like this outcome.

Belmont County Sheriff James Zusack could not be reached for comment, and Chief Deputy Glenn Moore said he had no knowledge of the situation.

Union Local Superintendent Zac Shutler declined to comment on the matter, except to say that he did not believe the situation was accurately portrayed in the information released by the Chandra Law Firm.