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, 62, 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 — as well as that she was allegedly on the phone, and available — was not relayed to responding deputies, Bonnie Kase claims.
When the deputies arrived, Gregory Kase was in a bathtub and holding a boxcutter, according to the notice. He got up out of the bath when law enforcement entered the motel room.
"Deputies made contact with him, gave him several directions to drop the weapon," Chief Deputy Michael Fowler said on Aug. 9, speaking to reporters after the shooting. "The subject was uncooperative and the deputies fired their weapons striking the subject, and unfortunately he did not survive."
On Thursday, the Sheriff's Office released body-worn camera footage of the encounter. Deputy Christopher Piper is seen kicking open the door of Kase's hotel room and calling out to him, after a hotel staffer tells him Kase is in his room with a knife. Piper has his gun drawn. Kase can be heard responding, "I'm right here" from the bathroom.
In the video, Piper repeatedly orders Kase to drop the knife, to which Kase responds, "What?" and "I can't hear you." Piper can be heard saying "Don't do this Greg" as Kase gets out of the bathtub and opens the bathroom door.
When the bathroom door opens, Kase is seen shuffling naked on the tile floor, a boxcutter in his right hand. Three shots are fired at Kase while Piper and Deputy Nichole Gorman were backing through the hotel doorway.
"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.
The entire incident lasts about 30 seconds.
Kase was completely deaf in one ear and partially deaf in another, the notice states. And 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," it continues.
The notice of claim — a first step in suing a local government — was filed by attorney Elliot Shields on behalf of Bonnie Kase. The claim names the county, Sheriff Todd Baxter, Piper and Gorman, who authorities say both fired at Gregory Kase, and other unnamed deputies who might have been involved. Both deputies are out on administrative leave pending the results of an internal investigation as well as an investigation by the state Attorney General's Office, a standard practice in police shootings. Both have been on the job for six years, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The 911 center is operated by the county but staffed by the city, and the city maintains recordings of 911 calls. The city was unable to immediately respond to WXXI News’ questions seeking to corroborate the claim of what was said to and relayed by 911 operators.
Fowler declined to discuss specifics of the case Thursday, citing the pending litigation. But he defended the deputies' actions.
"Mr. Kase made a choice," Fowler said. "His actions dictated how this incident ended. He had repeated opportunities to put the knife down or stay in the bathroom."
Shields disagreed.
“This was not an imminent situation that required the immediate use of deadly force," Shields said in a phone interview, questioning why deputies didn’t deploy non-lethal options like tasers or pepper spray.
"This was a situation where deputies are supposed to be trained to de-escalate,” he continued, “to take a deep breath, to take their time, and that's how you avoid using the deadly force, which is what happened here."
Shields has previously filed two separate federal lawsuits alleging excessive force by Piper. Both cases claim he physically struck suspects. One dates to 2024, and the other was filed last month.
