FBI asked to intervene after KY police reportedly slap mentally ill man following arrest
The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office has asked the FBI to investigate the London Police Department following an incident last week in which officers allegedly slapped a mentally ill man already in custody during an arrest.
Police got into a physical altercation April 22 with a man they say walked out of a 24-hour adult assisted care facility in London. Sheriff’s deputies who arrived after London police had already made contact with the individual say they became aware a city police officer slapped the man, who was reportedly already in custody.
The deputy reported the information to their supervisor, and the office conducted a review and subsequently notified the FBI the next day of a possible civil rights violation.
London police arrested 20-year-old Cody Grimshaw for assaulting officers, menacing, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Grimshaw was identified as “low I.Q.” and is represented by a guardian in court documents. All charges have since been dropped.
Grimshaw was reportedly throwing rocks at a caller from an open field when police arrived. He allegedly spat at and bit two officers during a brief struggle, and police say he refused to comply with verbal commands and attempted to strike one officer in the face.
London Police Officer Byron Grimes tackled Grimshaw into a brier patch, according to a police report obtained by the Herald-Leader. More than one officer applied “hard empty hand techniques,” which can include slaps and palm heels, as well as elbow and knee strikes, while Grimshaw’s hands were underneath his body.
The London Police Department citation makes no mention of a slap or strike after Grimshaw had been taken into custody. A public information officer for the agency declined to comment when reached by phone Thursday.
The allegations come as the city’s police force is under heightened scrutiny following reports of an ongoing federal investigation into alleged misuse of criminal background checks and a botched December 2024 raid in rural Laurel County during which an officer shot and killed a man inside his home while serving a search warrant at the wrong address.
This month’s incident involving a man officials have described as mentally ill occurred hours after law enforcement, businesses and community members participated in the Action for Autism Walk in downtown London. April is recognized as Autism Acceptance Month.
Members of the London City Council issued a joint press release late Wednesday saying they had been made aware of allegations of a “disturbing incident” involving multiple officers “brutalizing a mentally challenged young adult.”
“We understand the significant community concerns about our police department and intend to evaluate and take appropriate action in the near future,” the council said in its statement.
Council members said they submitted open records requests to the city and London-Laurel County 911 Center seeking body camera footage, dispatch information and incident reports related to the incident. The Herald-Leader has made a similar request under the Kentucky Open Records Act.
Grimshaw was held at the Laurel County Correctional Center until Tuesday, according to jail’s online roster. All inmates receive a physical when they are booked, Laurel County Jailer Jamie Mosely told the Herald-Leader, but he could not answer specific questions about the inmate’s medical records, per federal law.
It’s unclear whether the arresting officers were aware of Grimshaw’s mental state at any time during their interaction with him.
Court records show Grimshaw was being held on a $1,000 cash bond set April 24. Handwriting on a digital copy of a calendar order for Grimshaw’s case indicate he was set to appear before a Laurel Circuit Court judge for a preliminary hearing Tuesday. It’s unclear if that hearing took place, however. He was reportedly being represented by a public defender in the London Trial Office, but calls to the office went unanswered Thursday.
This is the second time county leaders have informed federal investigators of possible civil rights violations on the part of London police. After a grand jury declined to indict any of the officers involved in the 2024 shooting of Douglas “Doug” Harless, several county leaders signed their names to a letter asking the FBI and U.S. Justice Department to launch a formal inquiry into his death.
Using force, especially striking, is generally considered unconstitutional excessive force unless the person is actively resisting or positing an immediate safety threat, according to the U.S. Justice Department’s policy on use of force. It’s unclear whether Grimshaw was in handcuffs when he was slapped.
Interactions between law enforcement and people with mental illnesses often escalate as someone experiencing crisis can appear threatening and may have trouble obeying lawful police commands, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. People with mental illness are more than 10 times as likely to experience use of force, one 2021 BMC Psychiatry study revealed.
“The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to transparency and accountability and will continue to cooperate fully with any ongoing review of this incident,” Sheriff John Root said in a statement.
The Herald-Leader has filed open records requests with the London Police Department and Laurel County Sheriff’s Office for records and body camera footage of the incident. Both agencies began wearing body cameras last year, partly in response to the Harless shooting. The sheriff’s department was not directly involved in that incident.
This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 3:13 PM.
