Twenty-two months after he traded shots with a gunman and likely saved lives at Trolley Square, Ogden Officer Ken Hammond is under investigation for two misconduct allegations, at least one of which could lead to criminal charges.

Ogden police are probing claims in a new federal lawsuit, which accuses Hammond of abusing a suspect and sexually assaulting a woman during an arrest earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the Weber County attorney on Wednesday said he could decide "within days" whether to file criminal charges against Hammond in connection with a 2005 incident.

Neither Ogden police nor the Weber County attorney have disclosed the allegations being screened for prosecution, but Ogden Assistant Police Chief Randy Watt said it is not an excessive force complaint.

Hammond could not be reached for comment and has been on paid leave since sometime in November, awaiting the results of the investigation. It is "nearly complete," said Weber County Attorney Mark DeCaria.

At a news conference Wednesday, Watt said his department is investigating the lawsuit's allegations. He also attempted to place the claims into context, saying complaints against officers are common; Hammond is presumed innocent until proven guilty; and the claims do not diminish the bravery Hammond showed last year.

"Due to his heroism at Trolley Square, officer Ken Hammond is being scrutinized [by the public] a little more," Watt said.

In the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Salt Lake City, a suspect's wife claims Hammond violated her Fourth Amendment rights in a May 18 incident. Her husband, suspected of driving drunk, had escaped from the Utah Highway Patrol in Ogden while handcuffed. Hammond arrived to assist troopers.

The suspect had called his wife, Natasha Child, who said she arrived as Hammond was taking the man who was found in a yard into custody. Child alleges Hammond kicked her husband's legs out from underneath him and elbowed him in the head without provocation.

Child said she cried out, "I'm a witness to that!" and asserts Hammond appeared surprised, asking "'Where the hell did you come from? Who are you?"

Hammond told the other officers to arrest her "for no apparent reason," her suit said, and she was handcuffed. She alleges Hammond again kicked her husband's legs from underneath him and stomped on his ankle, saying, "Try to run now!"

Other officers took custody of the man and Hammond walked Child to his patrol car, the suit said.

Child claims Hammond lifted her handcuffed arms, causing her to struggle in discomfort, and her pants fell. She contends Hammond slammed her to the ground, lifted her up, then tugged her pants to her ankles.

» After Hammond pushed her against his car and pushed himself against her body, Child alleges, she yelled at another office for help, and that officer took custody of her.

The lawsuit does not specify the financial damages sought by Child. It asserts the chief and other supervisors should have known about past behavior problems with Hammond, without elaborating.

Her attorney, Robert Sykes, on Wednesday described a conversation Child had with a female officer shortly after the May arrest when Child went to the department to make an administrative complaint. Child first spoke to a supervisor, Sykes said. Then a female officer urged Child not to drop her complaint, alleging Hammond had sexually harassed suspects and female department employees, Sykes claimed. Asked about any prior discipline against Hammond, Watt said if the department had reason to terminate him, it would have.

Watt confirmed Child asked to file a complaint, but said she took the standard form and left the department without filling it out or talking to police. Sykes disputed that, saying Child told her story to the supervisor, who took notes. Sykes said Child did not complete the forms because another attorney advised her against it.

ncarlisle@sltrib.com