Defendants in paralyzed KY deputy’s lawsuit blame shooting on sheriff’s office, fugitive
The city of Georgetown and a Georgetown Police Department lieutenant who were sued by a ‘catastrophically’ injured sheriff’s deputy have filed a third-party complaint placing blame on the Scott County Sheriff’s Office.
On Sept. 11, 2018, Scott County deputy Jaime Morales was shot and mostly paralyzed during an attempt to arrest a man at a Scott County rest stop. A joint special response team, also known as the SRT team, comprised of members of the Scott County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgetown Police Department had been called in to assist a U.S. marshal who was trying to arrest a man named Edward J. Reynolds.
When police surrounded Reynolds’ vehicle, Morales reported he saw the man grab a gun and appear to chamber a round, according to investigation files in the case. Morales said “gun” to warn the other officers, and he, Georgetown officer Joseph Enricco and another deputy fired their service weapons. Reynolds never fired, according to the case file.
Members of both agencies in Scott County were part of the special response team that coordinated a plan to arrest Reynolds, who was wanted in connection with a string of armed robberies in other states, according to court and investigative records. The operation ended in the shooting death of Reynolds and left Morales with a wound to the back.
Months after the shooting, the Scott County Sheriff’s Office announced that Morales had been shot by a member of law enforcement.
While the investigative file in the case did not say which law enforcement officer shot Morales, it said that it’s possible Morales was struck because he moved, the officer who shot him moved or both of them moved while shots were being fired at Reynolds.
Morales filed a lawsuit in September 2019 against the city of Georgetown, the Georgetown Police Department and several city and police officials. In the lawsuit, he alleged that Enricco shot him and that the shooting was a result of inadequate training and planning.
The third-party complaint filed by the defendants in Morales’ lawsuit accuses the Scott County Sheriff’s Office and three of its employees of contributing to Morales’ injuries through “negligent acts or omissions,” according to court records. The sheriff’s office employees named in the complaint were Deputy Jordan Jacobs, Sgt. Devon Brinegar and Lt. Joshua Hudnall.
The complaint accuses Jacobs of not listening to or disregarding the tactical plan “by negligently positioning himself, and by discharging his weapon,” according to court records. The complaint accuses Brinegar of not listening to or disregarding the tactical plan and improperly advising Morales of “the need to wear his tactical gear during this incident.”
Hundall and the sheriff’s office as a whole are accused in the complaint of failing to “exercise ordinary care by improperly selecting, removing, training, and/or supervising the members of the joint Scott County/GPD SRT team involved in this tactical incident, all of which caused personal injury to Plaintiff Jamie Morales.”
Hundall helped lead the SRT team but was not on duty the night of the shooting, his attorney said.
If the defendants in Morales’ lawsuit lose the case, they say they are entitled to their own judgment against the sheriff’s office and its employees.
Earlier this year, the city of Georgetown, Enricco and another defendant moved to file a separate third-party complaint against the estate of Reynolds, the man who was shot and killed during the operation at the rest stop. Morales’ injuries were a result of Reynolds’ actions, according to that complaint.
In a court filing, Scott County Circuit Court Judge Brian Privett wrote that Reynolds died with no will, heirs or property. Still, an estate was created for Reynolds, and a third-party complaint was filed.
Barry Stilz, the attorney representing the sheriff’s office and its employees named in the third-party complaint said he did not believe the allegations against his clients had much merit and that they would be filing a response soon to try to get it dismissed.
Morales’ attorney, Elliot Miller, said in a statement that the third-party complaints are an effort to shift blame.
“These attempts to shift blame and responsibility are wholly unsupported by, and inconsistent with, the extensive evidence developed in this case,” Miller said. “If anything, the discovery in this case has buttressed our positions outlined in our complaint, and we view the recent filings as nothing more than a red herring.”
Morales’ initial complaint alleged that Enricco had completed basic response team training one month before the Sept. 11 incident and had not completed training on vehicle assaults.
“Mr. Morales was shot in the back by a fellow officer who violated the most basic tenet that you should not discharge your weapon while Mr. Morales is between you and Mr. Reynolds,” Miller said. “Blaming someone else for that critical lapse in basic judgment is confounding. No one forced the fellow officer to stand behind Mr. Morales and nobody forced him to pull the trigger.”
While the third-party complaint filed by the city of Georgetown and Georgetown police Lt. James Wagoner against the Scott County Sheriff’s Office and its employees accuses them of either not listening to or disregarding the plan for the vehicle assault, Morales’ initial complaint alleges that no plan was given to the team. Instead, the SRT team was told by Wagoner to make its own plan, Morales’ lawsuit alleges.
“It is a basic tenant that there needs to be some semblance of a plan in how to engage in the vehicle assault to apprehend Reynolds, yet there was absolutely none, yet it was known Mr. Reynolds was armed, dangerous and posed a flight risk,” Miller said. “Nobody else is to blame for these critical errors other than those named in the complaint.”
Morales’ lawsuit has asked for monetary damages for the pain and suffering from his injuries, loss of income and medical expenses.
“It has been nearly two years since Mr. Morales suffered his catastrophic injuries, including permanent paralysis, and nobody wants to take any responsibility for what occurred,” Miller said. “Meanwhile, Mr. Morales is permanently confined to a wheelchair, needs help to put his clothes on each day, has a multitude of health conditions, has to take a variety of medications every day, is living in a home wholly unsuited for his needs, and is unable to work. This is his life now and forever, and he simply wants resolution and accountability so he can have resources available to care for his needs and can move on with his life.”
This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 3:13 PM.
