A motion filed Friday by attorneys for Andrew Grimm, his wife Melanie and KBA News LLC (owner of the New Carlisle News) asked the court to remove the three government officials from the lawsuit that alleged Grimm was wrongly shot in September 2017 on Main Street in New Carlisle.
MORE: Clark County deputy who shot photographer says he had no other option
Grimm was shot by Clark County Deputy Jake Shaw twice as Grimm prepared to take photos of the deputy at a traffic stop. Shaw can be heard on body camera footage obtained by the Springfield News-Sun apologizing to grim and saying he believed his camera to be a weapon.
Grimm required surgery and other medical treatment for the wounds, according to the lawsuit.
“Plaintiffs hereby move this court to drop defendants City of New Carlisle, Jacob Shaw and Deborah Burchett with prejudice,” a motion filed by Grimm’s attorney says. “The Clark County Board of Commissioners remains as a defendant. Defendants are not opposed to this motion.”
Dismissing a lawsuit with prejudice means the lawsuit cannot be refiled. United States District Judge Thomas Rose upheld the motion, according to a court document:
“For good cause shown, plaintiffs’ unopposed motion to drop defendants City of New Carlisle, Jacob Shaw and Deborah Burchett are dropped from this case…”
Andy Grimm and Burchett declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
The lawsuit was originally filed in December 2017. The lawsuit seeks damages for what is called “excessive use of force and violation of Mr. Grimm’s constitutional and common law rights.”
Shaw was cleared by both the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation of any criminal wrongdoing and by a Clark County Sheriff’s Office internal investigation that found he followed the rules. Shaw was removed from road patrol during the investigations but has been reassigned to road patrol and is undergoing 10-week training.
READ: Clark County responds to lawsuit from photographer shot by deputy
The lawsuit doesn’t specify an amount of money Grimm is seeking but does say he wants more than $75,000 to cover attorney fees, injury, damage, loss and to adequately punish and deter the conduct alleged.
Grimm wasn’t a threat to anyone the night he was shot, the suit alleges. He also took measures to identify himself, the court documents say, including parking under a street light, flashing car lights at the deputy, waving at him and wearing his press credentials around his neck.
“Defendant Shaw’s conduct was so extreme and outrageous as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency and was utterly intolerable in a civilized society,” the lawsuit says.
The defendants in the case have denied the allegations.
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