EUCLID, Ohio -- A Euclid police officer pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge accusing him of firing a gun in a park while off-duty.

Officer Todd Gauntner, 29, of Willowick, is charged with discharging a firearm, using a weapon while intoxicated and criminal trespassing in a Thanksgiving incident at Sims Park in Euclid.

He is scheduled to appear at a pretrial hearing March 11 in Euclid Municipal Court.

Gauntner's attorney filed a motion requesting a jury trial. The matter will be discussed at the pretrial hearing, a court employee said Friday.

Defense attorney Robert M. Phillips was not immediately available for comment Friday.

Gauntner is serving a 90-day suspension that began Dec. 12, Euclid Police Chief Thomas Brickman said.

He will return to duty if he meets several conditions outlined in a disciplinary agreement. The city denied a request to release a copy of the agreement because it references Gauntner's medical records, Euclid Law Director Kelley Sweeney said last month.

Gauntner was not using his service weapon when he fired shots into Lake Erie on Thanksgiving, Brickman said last month.

Witnesses reported hearing about a dozen shots fired at Sims Park just after 2 a.m. on Nov. 26. Officers arrived at the park's pier and found Gauntner and a woman, according to a police report.

Gauntner was holding two guns and said he fired shots at the water. Gauntner told an officer he'd been drinking, the report says.

The woman told officers that Gauntner was "blowing off steam" by shooting at the water. Gauntner never threatened her, the woman said.

Officers took Gauntner to the Euclid Police Department, where he refused a breath test. He was then taken to Euclid Hospital for an evaluation.

Gauntner said at the time that he was dealing with the recent death of a family member. He is also a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, Phillips said last month.

Gauntner has been with the Euclid Police Department for two years and has no previous disciplinary issues, Brickman said. Documents included in Gauntner's personnel file show he has been commended for his role in several arrests over the past two years.