KELSO, Wash. - A lawsuit over the forced catheterization of a man who was arrested for investigation of drunken driving has been settled for $15,000.

The settlement reached Friday with Matthew Clifford Arthur, 37, over his treatment following an arrest in November 2005 did not include any admission of wrongdoing, Assistant Attorney General Gary E. Andrews said Monday. While the settlement covers Cowlitz County and county officials, the state will pay the full cost, he added.

"This turned out to be a better way to go than to spend more money litigating it," Andrews said.

Arthur filed suit last month, accusing two Cowlitz County sheriff's deputies and a state corrections officer of forcing him to undergo catheterization and a blood draw when he refused to provide urine and blood samples at St. John's Medical Center in Longview following a traffic stop.

Arthur was required to undergo screening for intoxicants upon request under a probation agreement at the time, but his lawyer, Kevin G. Blondin, said the procedure was painful, invasive and unnecessary.

"He was held down kicking and screaming while they shoved a catheter into his penis," Blondin said.

Instead, Arthur should have been taken to jail when he refused to give the fluid samples, the lawyer said.

Following his arrest and resistance to the tests, Arthur was convicted of obstructing justice, reckless driving, driving under the influence and two counts of malicious mischief. Last August, Arthur pleaded guilty to violating a protection order three or more times and is currently serving a two-year, nine-month prison term.

The probation officer needed to know how intoxicated Arthur was in order "to fully understand the risks that Mr. Arthur may or may not present to the community," Andrews said.