PORTLAND — Two Maine men have filed a lawsuit against a Portland police officer they allege used excessive force and attacked them while they were handcuffed during an arrest nearly two years ago.

Eric Lund of Windham and Jeffrey Staples of Standish allege in the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Portland that Officer Eric McCusker threatened them and injured them after finding them hiding in tall grass near railroad tracks in September 2012.

Lund and Staples were charged with possession of burglary tools, though they deny in the lawsuit they intended to commit a burglary. The suit says they cooperated fully with police.

A lawyer for McCusker said his client was cleared of wrongdoing by an internal investigation and called the suit “very defensible.”

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charge, Portland police, staples
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