Jacob Grassley

KALAMAZOO, MI -- A Kalamazoo police officer's actions on the night he shot and killed Jacob Grassley inside an East Cork Street hotel were necessary and justifiable, and did not violate Grassley's civil rights, the officer's attorney said in a new court filing.

"Based upon the totality of Jacob A. Grassley's conduct and the facts known to Sgt. Sean Gordon at the time force was used, Sgt. Gordon had a reasonable apprehension that (Grassley) intended serious and imminent personal injury to Sgt. Gordon and others, creating a justifiable need for the use of force to prevent its occurrence," Attorney James L. Dyer wrote in response to a lawsuit filed in December by Grassley's estate.

"As a result, the actions taken by Sgt. Gordon were objectively reasonable, an appropriate exercise of police authority under Federal and State law, and not taken in violation of Michigan Law or Plaintiff's Federal statutory or constitutional rights."

Dyer's contentions are contained in an 11-page answer that was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids in response to a lawsuit filed by James Wilson Smith, who is the personal representative for Grassley's estate.

Grassley, 34, was shot and killed by Gordon on Jan. 24, 2013, inside the Best Western hotel on East Cork Street.

Reports obtained by the Kalamazoo Gazette in 2013 under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act said Grassley, who was unarmed when he was shot, had been involved in a domestic dispute earler that day and officers believed he was possibly armed after they were told he had taken guns from his home during the incident.

After the initial incident, police placed Grassley's girlfriend at the Best Western for her safety. Investigators later "pinged" or tracked Grassley's cellphone to the area of South Burdick Street and East Cork streets, and Gordon began making his way to that location after receiving the information over his in-car radio.

What followed was an 8- to 10-mile pursuit to the Best Western during which speeds never reached higher than 50 mph. Once they arrived at the hotel, Grassley entered the building with Gordon and other officers giving chase.

Gordon later described it as a "dire situation," saying Grassley was "homicidal and suicidal" and was "going to harm or kill" his girlfriend, according to the internal investigation.

Investigators said Grassley failed to comply with commands to stop as he went up a spiral staircase in the hotel and Gordon shot Grassley from behind, wounding him in the right buttocks and torso.

Grassley died later at Bronson Methodist Hospital. Following the shooting, police found a loaded .40-caliber Glock handgun in Grassley's car and learned he had left two other guns with a friend.

Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting ruled in May 2013 that Gordon was justified in shooting Grassley and called the officer's decision "honest and reasonable."

In the complaint filed in December, Grassley's estate alleged that Gordon had no reason to shoot Grassley and said that Grassley took no aggressive action against the officer or anyone else in the hotel. The lawsuit accuses Gordon of committing battery and says he had no authority to use excessive force.

However, Dyer and Kalamazoo Assistant City Attorney Richard O. Cherry, who is acting as co-counsel for Gordon, disputed the claims in the court filing and requested that U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker dismiss the lawsuit.

Among other things, Dyer and Cherry say Gordon is immune from liability under state law as an officer or employee "of a governmental agency engaged in the exercise or discharge of a governmental function." They said he also is immune from liability under federal law.

They also said that the claim is barred "in whole or in part" by Grassley's "own acts, assaults or misconduct" on the night he was killed.

The attorneys admitted in the answer that Grassley was unarmed at the time Gordon shot him, however they pointed out that Gordon "reasonably believed" the reports that Grassley had taken two handguns and a long rifle from his residence and that Grassley had "a black object in his hand when he entered the Best Western Motel lobby."

Dyer and Cherry also admitted that Grassley took no aggressive action toward Gordon, but noted that Grassley "looked directly at Defendant, and ignored a lawful order to stop, while Defendant's weapon was pointed directly at (Grassley)."

"There is no genuine issue of material facts, and Plaintiff is not entitled to relief, as a matter of law because (Gordon) acted reasonably when faced with the uncertainty of a rapidly evolving situation, confronting an individual believed to be armed and dangerous, who appeared to be attempting to determine the location of Meghan Parsons, the liv in companion of (Grassley) and the complaining witness in a domestic violence complaint initiated against (Grassley) earlier in the day on January 24, 2013," the court filing on behalf of Gordon said.

Rex Hall Jr. is a public safety reporter for the Kalamazoo Gazette. You can reach him at rhall2@mlive.com. Follow him on Twitter.