Frank Skrah

Klamath County Sheriff Frank Skrah, addressing the news media last year in Klamath Falls, will go on trial Feb. 8, 2017, on nine misdemeanor charges. (Kevin N. Hume/The Herald and News via AP)

(The Associated Press/2015)

KLAMATH FALLS-- A February trial has been scheduled for a southern Oregon sheriff accused of assault and official misconduct.

Sheriff Frank Skrah of Klamath County faces nine misdemeanor charges stemming from complaints that he roughed up suspects and failed to notify the owners of 30 privately owned mailboxes that the boxes were damaged by an on-duty deputy.

The Herald and News reports Klamath County Judge Roxanne Osborne will preside over the trial that's scheduled to begin Feb. 8.

Skrah pleaded not guilty and remains on the job. He is not seeking re-election.

The charges stem from Skrah's dealings with three men, James Johnson, Kenneth Bragg and Jason Charles, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive. In three separate incidents, Skrah allegedly held a flashlight against Johnson's throat on Feb. 11, 2013; he allegedly hit Charles on Jan. 14, 2014; and prosecutors claim he choked Bragg on Feb. 27, 2015.

Skrah, a former Los Angeles police officer and investigator for the California judicial department, was elected Klamath County sheriff in 2012, has denied any wrongdoing.

-- The Associated Press