ATLANTA — A man who was tased by an Atlanta Police officer who caught him panhandling is suing the officer, city and police department after the incident left him a paraplegic.
In the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia, 66-year-old Jerry Blasingame claimed he was panhandling near an on-ramp for I-20 on the west side of the city when he was tased by Atlanta Police officer J. Grubbs and suffered a traumatic fall that resulted in a severe spinal cord injury.
“What happens when those who swore to protect us, hurt us?” said Letitia Knox, Blasingame’s daughter. “An innocent, healthy man has been turned into a paraplegic. We can’t turn to the police because they cover up for their own … so we’re turning to the court.”
According to the lawsuit, Grubbs witnessed the panhandling and demanded Blasingame to stop. Blasingame reportedly moved out of the street toward a guard rail and wooded area and Grubbs exited his car and ran at him, then deployed his taser.
In the Atlanta Police incident report, Grubbs wrote that he exited his patrol car and yelled “police.” He said he chased Blasingame while he crossed traffic, at which point he went over the metal barrier into a wooded area.
The officer said in his report that Blasingame did a “swinging type” motion with his arms and ran down a small dirt path. As Blasingame approached the eastbound I-20 expressway on-ramp at Windsor Street SW, the officer deployed his taser because there were vehicles traveling at highway speeds and he wanted to stop Blasingame from entering the highway, he wrote in the report.
Attorney Solomon Radner, who is representing Blasingame, said that police and hospital workers told Blasingame’s family that he fell 30 feet. The incident report from Atlanta Police stated that Blasingame “went down and made contact with a small concrete slab that was adjacent to a traffic control box.” Grubbs indicated that he “did not immediately see” the box due to trees surrounding the area.
“When the police report came out, what it shows now, is that police claim he was tased, fell down and bumped his head … and now he’s a quadriplegic,” Radner said. “That is sheer and utter nonsense. If someone just fell down, they wouldn’t get paralyzed for that.”
Radner mused that Grubbs and his partner, Officer K. Shelly, had time to “get their story together” with “several versions and drafts” about what happened.
“The only witness that we know of was the defendant’s partner. We don’t have a report from him. I would be curious what he would say in his deposition,” Radner said.
The lawsuit also finds fault with Grubbs because his bodycam was turned off at the time of the incident.
“At the time of the incident, I did not realize that my body camera was not in buffering mode and it was activated immediately after,” Grubbs stated in his report.
“Once again, a man got hurt at the hands of police and there was amazingly no footage. The officer forgot to turn on his body camera,” Radner said. “It is something I plan to get to the bottom of.”
The incident knocked Blasingame unconscious and he was bleeding from his head, according to the police report. He was transported to Grady Hospital and, about a month later, was paid a visit by Atlanta Police, Radner said. At the hospital, Blasingame was charged with pedestrian solicit on roadway and obstruction of police. Those charges were eventually dismissed.
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The incident caused a severe spinal cord injury and Blasingame is now a paraplegic who can no longer live on his own and needs round-the-clock care, according to the lawsuit.
“Mr. Jerry is a good man. He didn’t deserve any of this,” said Kevin Carmouche, Letitia Knox’s husband. “Do not kid yourself, police brutality happens all across this country. People know about it, but it continues to happen. Other police officers see it, know about it and keep quiet about it, and it only encourages more police brutality.”
Radner said that Blasingame has been homeless on and off throughout the past few years, and his family would come by and take care of him “to the best of their ability.”
“He was panhandling and asking for money. It might be illegal, but the fact of the matter is, being tased and paralyzed is not something that should happen as a result,” Radner said.
"Panhandling by people in need, including homeless people who are hungry might be illegal, but it is not a capital offense," Carmouche said. "This could have killed Mr. Jerry, and it almost did."
The lawsuit was handed to Atlanta Police after Tuesday’s press conference. Radner said that Blasingame is seeking damages that will be enough to pay for his care for the remainder of his life.
Atlanta Police has not commented on the lawsuit, filed Tuesday morning, or returned 11Alive’s calls for comment.
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