An attorney for three Lewiston police officers who shot a Norway man in 2003 has appealed a federal judge’s ruling on a civil lawsuit brought by the injured man.

Vince Berube claimed he was the victim of assault and battery, violation of state and federal civil and constitutional rights and was arrested in a “wanton or oppressive” manner.

U.S. Magistrate Judge David M. Cohen had ruled, on most counts, against the officers who were seeking summary judgment on a six-count complaint.

If successful, summary judgment would have made a trial unnecessary because a judge would have concluded that a reasonable jury would only be able to decide a case in favor of the officers, based on the evidence.

Cohen did rule against Berube’s claim that his federal constitutional due process rights were violated.

The judge also ruled partly in favor of Officer Carly Conley, writing that Berube’s claim that she violated his civil rights is subject to summary judgment – but only up to the point where he fell to the ground. The same applies to his claim that she was responsible for assault and battery against him, Cohen wrote.

All other counts, including assault and battery against the other two officers, plus punitive damages and attorney’s fees, should go to trial, Cohen wrote.

Edward Benjamin Jr., attorney for the officers, said he was hopeful the three-judge panel at the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would rule in his clients’ favor.

“I think I have a good chance of getting Magistrate Cohen’s denial of our motion for summary judgment overturned,” he said. The chief judge on the panel, Michael Boudin, ruled in favor of Lewiston police the last time they were involved in a shooting, Benjamin said. In 1991, Michael Roy was shot in the abdomen and neck when police responded to a domestic violence call. Benjamin represented police in that case.

Berube’s attorney, John Campbell, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Each side was given 15 minutes to present its arguments Thursday in Boston, Benjamin said. It likely will be about two months before the court rules.

In his recent ruling on the motion for summary judgment, Magistrate Cohen laid out the facts of the case:

On Dec. 17, 2003, at 9:30 p.m., Officers Conley, Matthew Vierling and Eric Syphers were in the Lewiston Police station.

Berube had parked his pickup truck in a vacant lot where he sliced his wrists and stabbed his chest repeatedly. He suffered from bipolar disorder with schizophrenic episodes, Cohen wrote.

Berube’s actions were interrupted by somebody who drove up to the lot. Believing it was a police officer, Berube became enraged and drove to the back of the police station where officers park their cruisers.

Berube drove into the lot, stopped, jumped out of his truck and ran to the tailgate where he grabbed a hammer. He began smashing the windows of parked cruisers, Cohen wrote.

Conley had walked into the parking area about 9:40 p.m. to retrieve something from her cruiser. She heard the windows smashing and Berube shouting obscenities about police. She radioed for help.

She walked around Berube’s truck and saw him smashing the windows, his shirt front covered with blood.

Vierling and Syphers responded to Conley’s radio call. By the time they opened the door, they had heard gunshots. Vierling saw Berube on the ground. Syphers saw Conley about 10 feet from Berube. Conley was ordering Berube to stay down. Syphers also told him to show his hands, which were blocked by his body.

Vierling and Syphers thought Berube had a gun and was getting ready to fire at Conley. Conley and Syphers continued to yell at Berube to stay down and show his hands. When Vierling saw Berube “roll in a quick movement” onto his back, Vierling and Syphers fired at him. They were 10 to 15 feet from Berube at the time, Cohen wrote.

After Berube was taken away by ambulance, a shooting investigation team from the Maine Attorney General’s Office was called to interview the three officers.

A witness who had been in her fourth-floor apartment on Lisbon Street told police she had seen the events unfold and later gave a statement.

Berube said he suffered a paralyzed leg and shattered hip, among other injuries, from the shooting and spent weeks in a hospital recovering from his wounds. He pleaded guilty to criminal threatening, a felony, and was sentenced to four years in prison, with all suspended, plus four years of probation.