ELYRIA — Elyria police Officer Jay Loesch pleaded not guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor assault charge that stems from an allegation he punched a suspect who was handcuffed to a hospital bed in January.

Loesch wasn’t in court to deny the charge. Instead, his attorney, Bob Phillips, filed the not-guilty plea.

Loesch, who remains on the job working in the Police Department’s Detective Bureau, is accused of punching Johnny Smith Jr. on Jan. 27 at EMH Medical Center in Elyria.

Smith, 43, was injured when police had to forcibly remove him from the cab of a tractor-trailer. Smith nearly struck an officer who was trying to stop the truck because the passenger had stolen beer and steaks from the Apples grocery store on Cleveland Street.

Smith has said he didn’t struggle and has accused Elyria police officers of beating him, an allegation that police and a special prosecutor have rejected.

Smith, who had a blood-alcohol level of 0.355 percent, was handcuffed to a bed in a secure room when he arrived at the hospital after the incident and medical personnel have reported that he and police were hostile to each other.

According to witnesses, and Smith himself, Smith made a comment about how he wished that other officers, including Loesch, had died when Ronald Palmer gunned down Elyria police Officer James Kerstetter on March 15, 2010.

Loesch and Officer Donald Moss shot and killed Palmer after he refused to obey orders to surrender. A county grand jury later ruled the shooting was justified.

A nurse at the hospital told police that after Smith made the comment about Kerstetter, Loesch and Officer Richard Walker Jr. went into Smith’s room and shut the door. The nurse reported that Loesch then struck Smith once on the left side of the face.

Walker said the blow wasn’t that hard, while Smith has said he nearly blacked out from the hit. Special Prosecutor John Reulbach Jr. concluded that Smith wasn’t severely injured by Loesch’s punch.

Phillips said he is still reviewing what happened at EMH, but he added that Loesch’s side of the story hasn’t been told because police statements from officers facing internal discipline can’t be used against the officer if criminal charges are filed.

“There’s a little bit of difference of what the facts are,” Phillips said, although he declined to elaborate.

An internal police investigation led to Loesch being suspended for five days earlier this year for the events at EMH. Loesch, who didn’t appeal his punishment, will avoid being suspended for an additional five days as long as he gets in no further trouble for a year.

City officials, including Police Chief Duane Whitely, have largely declined to comment on the Loesch case because Smith has said he plans to sue the city.

Phillips said he believes that the criminal case can be resolved favorably for Loesch, who, even if convicted of the assault charge, won’t be in jeopardy of losing his job. He could get up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted.

Smith has already pleaded guilty to failure to comply, obstructing official business and DUI charges in April in relation to the tractor-trailer incident and is awaiting sentencing. Prosecutors have said they won’t oppose a six-month sentence.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.