A man shot dead by a Monroe County Sheriff deputy earlier this month was "profoundly deaf and could not comply with verbal demands," according to a notice of claim filed Thursday.
Gregory Kase was shot and killed on Aug. 9 after his wife called 911 reporting he was mentally ill, suicidal and in crisis at the Super 8 Motel in Henrietta — “and, expressly, that he was deaf,” the notice reads.
But the detail that he was deaf and in a mental-health crisis — nor that his wife was on the phone, and available — allegedly was not relayed to responding deputies.
When the deputies arrived, Kase was allegedly in a bathtub and holding a knife, according to the notice. He got up out of the bath when law enforcement opened the door.
"Deputies made contact with him, gave him several directions to drop the weapon," Chief Deputy Michael Fowler said after the shooting. "The subject was uncooperative and the deputies fired their weapons striking the subject, and unfortunately he did not survive."
The notice of claim — a first step in suing a local government — was filed by attorney Elliot Shields on behalf of Bonnie Kase.
"Mr. Kase was naked and standing on a wet tile bathroom floor and did not even have the ability to make any sudden or quick movements towards the officers," the notice of claim reads.
Kase was completely deaf in one ear and partially deaf in another, the claim states. End even with a hearing aid, he could "hear and understand speech only if he was facing the speaker and able to read the speaker's lips," the claim reads.
This is a developing story. The Sheriff’s Office plans to release body-worn camera video from the scene and hold a media briefing Thursday afternoon. The claim names the county, Sheriff Todd Baxter and other deputies involved in the shooting.
