Our very own Attorney Geoffrey Fieger announced that he will be representing the parents of deceased teen Damon Grimes in a lawsuit against the Michigan State Trooper who tasered him in an ATV incident this past weekend. The incident occurred on August 26th when state troopers attempted to stop 15-year-old Damon Grimes as he drove his ATV on the road. Grimes’s parents, Monique Grimes and John Hughes, are filing a $50 million lawsuit in federal court for the death of their son.
The officer, who was recently confirmed as Mark Bessner, allegedly shot Grimes with a taser as he drove beside the ATV, pursuing the teen from his police car. Grimes then collided with a parked pickup and later died. The autopsy has yet to confirm whether the taser or the collision with the vehicle caused Grimes’s death.
Officer Mark Bessner was suspended for shooting a taser while in a moving vehicle, which is a violation of Michigan State Police policy. According to public records, Bessner has been involved in other questionable incidents while on duty. He was sued on 2013 for using excessive force and has since faced two additional civil lawsuits involving the use of tasers.
Attorney Fieger characterized the incident as a “drive-by shooting of a child on an ATV” during a press conference held Tuesday, August 30. Damon Grimes was unarmed when he was shot with the taser and had apparently driven his ATV in the area before without incident. Riding ATVs was a hobby he and his father shared.
U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain has taken the case. Attorney Fieger filed two complaints on behalf of Grimes’s parents, the first of which cites a violation of the Federal Civil Rights Act, Section 1983, as well as gross negligence under Michigan law.
Contact Fieger Law to learn more about our personal injury attorney and the cases we represent.
