A former Tampa police detective is suing the organizers of the Seminole Hard Rock Gasparilla Pirate Festival, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and Eventfest Inc., claiming a blast from a pirate cannon permanently damaged his hearing and forced him into early retirement.

The lawsuit filed in Hillsborough County civil court on Nov. 19 said Richard Griner, 46, is seeking the standard “damages in excess of $15,000,” but doesn’t specify an amount beyond that.

Griner, at the time a 12-year veteran of the department, was assigned to work the corner of Ashley Drive and Jackson Street in downtown Tampa during the pirate parade on Jan. 30, 2016, the lawsuit said, when at some point during the afternoon a passing float fired a cannon “above and in close proximity” to him causing an “immediate onset of severe tinnitus.”

The lawsuit claims Griner’s hearing progressively worsened, ultimately resulting in “a complete functional hearing loss” and forcing him into early retirement from the Tampa Police Department. Griner’s last day of employment with the Tampa Police Department was Oct. 24, 2018, police spokesperson Jamel Lanee said.

Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla is the elite social club of Tampa businessmen that has put on the parade of pirates since 1904. Dues-paying members in full costume sail aboard the Jose Gasparilla pirate ship from the Tampa Yacht & Country Club to the Tampa Convention Center in a mock invasion involving the mayor. The pirates then ride floats in a parade along the city’s waterfront, throwing beads and firing blanks.

Eventfest Inc. is the events company contracted by Ye Mystic Krewe to produce the pirate festival.

Ye Mystic Krewe did not comment on the case specifically, but in an emailed statement attributed to Captain Richard M. Chapman told the Tampa Bay Times that safety is a priority at the pirate festival, and that "Over the past 116 years, we have no record of any hearing-related injuring associated with the Invasion Day Parade.”

Reached by phone, Griner declined to comment and directed questions to his attorney, Vincent M. D’Assaro of the firm Morgan & Morgan. The attorney said it was too soon to discuss the case beyond the information in the complaint.

“This has not been easy for him,” D’Assaro said. Asked if Griner was able to retire with his full pension, D’Assaro said, “that’s one of the things we’re figuring out, but I don’t want to comment on that now.”

While a corporal and detective in the Tampa Police Department, Griner for years also served as chairman of the Tampa firefighters and police officers pension fund. In that role, he was frequently interviewed by national media because of the fund’s success with its unique approach to managing its roughly $2 billion in assets.

The lawsuit also claims that during years prior, cannon fire from Ye Mystic Krewe floats “caused property damage and personal injury to police officers working the route, and citizens attending said parades," and that the organizers should have known of those prior incidents, and been aware how close police officers were to cannon fire.

“We only recently received the lawsuit from Officer Griner about his claimed hearing injury while working at the 2016 parade and would prefer to not comment on any specific allegations in the pending litigation,” Chapman said in the statement. “However, it is important to note the Krewe’s commitment to safety – which is a top priority. As part of our safety program, for decades only Krewe members who have undergone comprehensive safety training are permitted to fire blanks from specifically designated floats."

In 2009, a man sued Ye Mystic Krewe alleging that he’d been scarred by a negligent cannon blast while working aboard the Jose Gasparilla pirate ship as a contractor assisting with the sound system and speakers. The court dismissed that case after the parties settled out of court.