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Ohio Motorist Shot in Face by Police Receives $450,000 Settlement
In August 2011, the Village of Middleport, Ohio agreed to settle a civil rights case filed by a West Virginia resident, James Gray IV, who claimed that he was shot in the face by a Middleport Police Department police officer, Patrolman Steven Koebel, after a high-speed car chase that began when Gray allegedly ran a stop sign.
In September 2009, Gray filed a complaint in the Court of Common Pleas for Meigs County, Ohio, alleging that on April 15, 2009, Koebel, believing that Gray had failed to obey a traffic sign, engaged him in a high-speed car chase which ended when Gray crashed his car into a fence; after Gray stepped out of his vehicle, he was shot in the side of his face by Koebel, which allegedly shattered his teeth and caused him permanent disfigurement.
Gray's suit alleged that Koebel made an unreasonable seizure of his person, in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and that Koebel used excessive force, assaulting Gray by unnecessarily and illegally shooting him. The suit also alleged that the Village of Middleport failed to adequately train and supervise Koebel.
The case settled in August 2011 for $450,000. Gray was represented by Al Gerhardstein and Trenton Cleland, attorneys at the law firm of Gerhardstein & Branch Co., LPA. See: Gray v. Village of Middleport, Case No. 2:09-cv-00868-ALM-NMH, Common Pleas Court, Meigs County, Ohio (2009).
Source: gbfirm.com (2011)
In September 2009, Gray filed a complaint in the Court of Common Pleas for Meigs County, Ohio, alleging that on April 15, 2009, Koebel, believing that Gray had failed to obey a traffic sign, engaged him in a high-speed car chase which ended when Gray crashed his car into a fence; after Gray stepped out of his vehicle, he was shot in the side of his face by Koebel, which allegedly shattered his teeth and caused him permanent disfigurement.
Gray's suit alleged that Koebel made an unreasonable seizure of his person, in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and that Koebel used excessive force, assaulting Gray by unnecessarily and illegally shooting him. The suit also alleged that the Village of Middleport failed to adequately train and supervise Koebel.
The case settled in August 2011 for $450,000. Gray was represented by Al Gerhardstein and Trenton Cleland, attorneys at the law firm of Gerhardstein & Branch Co., LPA. See: Gray v. Village of Middleport, Case No. 2:09-cv-00868-ALM-NMH, Common Pleas Court, Meigs County, Ohio (2009).
Source: gbfirm.com (2011)
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Related legal case
Gray v. Village of Middleport
| Year | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Case No. 2:09-cv-00868-ALM-NMH, Common Pleas Court, Meigs County, Ohio (2009) |
| Level | State Trial Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 450,000.00 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |