Burlington — A trial date has been set in federal court in the case of an Upper Valley man who sued Hartford police alleging officers used unreasonable and excessive force against him in his own home seven years ago.

Wayne Burwell was pepper-sprayed and repeatedly struck with a baton by Hartford police when they responded to an erroneous report of a burglary at his home in May 2010 and found him sitting on a toilet suffering from a medical event. Police said he was not complying with their commands.

Burwell, an African-American fitness trainer, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in 2012, and several counts and parties have been dismissed throughout the years, but he will proceed to trial on claims that officers Fredrick Peyton and Kristinnah Adams used excessive force, committed assault and battery and intentionally inflicted emotional distress.

Burwell’s trial is scheduled to begin immediately following jury draw on Oct. 2, and is slated to continue through Oct. 17, according to court documents filed late last week.

The trial will take place in U.S. District Court in Burlington.

“The only thing I have ever wanted is to be able to tell this story to a jury,” said Robin Curtiss, one of Burwell’s attorneys. “We are very happy that we are going to get our day in court.”

Messages left for the officers’ attorney, James Carroll, of Middlebury, Vt., weren’t returned by deadline.

Burwell originally included the town of Hartford, its former police chief, Glenn Cutting, and Sgt. Scott Moody in his filing. They have all since been dismissed from the case.

The 41-year-old Burwell, a fitness trainer who owns a gym in Lebanon, currently lives in Hanover.

Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.