Ohio based New Carlisle News reports that its photographer was shot as an innocent bystander in an incident Monday night by a Clark County deputy.
Andy Grimm was a bystander when a car was stopped on Main Street for driving over the speed limit. Grimm was injured when Deputy Jake Shaw mistook his camera for a weapon and felt it was justified with out warning to shoot Grimm striking his side.
"I was going out to take pictures and I saw the traffic stop and I thought, 'hey, cool. I'll get some pictures here.'" He said he pulled into Studebaker's parking lot in full view of the deputy, got out of his Jeep in full view of the deputy and started setting up his tripod and camera. "I turned around toward the cars and then 'pop, pop,'" Grimm said.
The news agency explained:
"Andy Grimm was shot by a Clark County deputy Monday evening. Andy had left the office around 10:00 p.m. to take pictures of lightning. There was a traffic stop on Main Street near Studebaker’s Restaurant, but Andy was not the subject of the stop. He had his camera and tripod in his hands and Deputy Jake Shaw apparently mistook it for a weapon and fired, striking Andy in the side. He was rushed to Miami Valley Hospital for surgery. He is expected to recover from his wounds."
Body camera footage released by the Clark County Sheriff's Office shows Deputy Jake Shaw shoot Grimm firing off shots into the darkness of the night. The shooting begins at 3:20 as the officer is checking the driver's info inside his police car.
The irony in all this is the policeman knows the cameraman he shot and now Grimm is pleading for Shaw to keep his job. Grimm told local reporters, "I know Jake. I like Jake. I don't want him to lose his job over this," in reference to the sheriff's deputy that shot him.
The victim's father, Dale Grimm, told The Washington Post that his son "got out, parked under a light in plain view of the deputy, with a press pass around his neck. He was setting up his camera, and he heard pops."
Whats worse is the Sheriff's deputy reportedly gave no warning before firing the shots that wounded Grimm.
The case has been turned over to the Ohio state attorney general’s Bureau of Criminal Division according to New Carlisle News.
Is this the type of incidents Donald Trump wants to encourage putting military weapons into the hands of local police that are made for wars?
It is deeply concerning that the current U.S. administration is currently seeking to pass on military gear to local and state authorities which continue to display lack of judgment time and time again killing innocent unarmed people with what they already have in their possession.
Local police forces should never operate like the Pentagon or the Military Industrial Complex, but it appears we're headed down that path quicker than we realize. Trump and the DOJ have just reversed former President Barack Obama’s restrictions that barred local police departments from receiving surplus military equipment. Giving gear that designed for war will only encourage this type of trigger happy behavior.