Man paralyzed in Short North police shooting files lawsuit against Columbus officers
Bethany Bruner
A man paralyzed after being shot in the Short North a year ago has filed a lawsuit against the officers involved in a shooting despite admitting that bullets struck him before officers opened fire.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on the same day the Franklin County Prosecutor's office said a grand jury would not review the case for potential charges against the officers involved.
According to the lawsuit, Jalen Bradley, then 20, was with his sister in the Short North on May 6, 2023. Around 2:30 a.m., a group of people approached and attacked the pair, the lawsuit says.
During the altercation, Bradley says someone in the group of people shot him and his sister, injuring them. Bradley was legally armed, according to the lawsuit, and returned fire against the attackers.
The lawsuit says Bradley had been "attempting to run for cover away from the shots" when several Columbus police officers, "who didn't know what was going on, opened fire."
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Bradley had been looking for cover "in case the shooters came back," the lawsuit says.
What Columbus police's body camera shows
Body camera footage shows Columbus police officers Carl Harmon and Jacob Velas firing as they moved toward a person with a gun in front of the Roaming Goat Coffee shop at 849 N. High St. That person is Bradley.
The body camera footage, released by police in 2023, shows the officers kicking a handgun away from Bradley before handcuffing him and having him taken by paramedics to a nearby hospital.
At least 10 people were injured in the shooting, although Columbus police have never said how many of those people were hurt by other pedestrians or by the responding officers.
The lawsuit says officers fired "no fewer than 20 shots" and "recklessly shot ... without cause and ignoring the safety of all pedestrians, vehicles and patrons of businesses in the area."
The lawsuit also says officers "were never shot at and yet shot with zeal at (Bradley and his sister) who were doing nothing more than fleeing for their lives."
Bradley suffered 11 gunshots in his back and neck, which led to him being paralyzed, and the shots were fired after there was no longer any ongoing threat. The lawsuit does not say how Bradley could determine what injury led to him being paralyzed.
At the time of the shooting, Columbus police said nearly a dozen firearms were recovered.