Recording of 911 calls placed by the wife of a man shot dead by a Monroe County Sheriff deputy this month contradict claims that she told the dispatchers he was deaf, according to the city.
Bonnie Kase made three calls to 911 on Aug. 9, sending deputies to the Super 8 Motel in Henrietta for her husband Gregory Kase — reporting he was mentally ill, suicidal “and, expressly, that he was deaf,” read a notice of claim she filed this week against the Sheriff’s Office.
"We have listened to those calls. At no point during the three 911 calls does Mrs. Kase tell the 911 operator that her husband is deaf," according to a statement the city provided to WXXI News.
New York state law prevents the public disclosure of 911 recordings.
The county operates the 911 Center, but it is staffed by city employees. The city reviewed the recordings at the request of WXXI News. In the provided statement, the city expressed condolences to the family and friends of Gregory Kase.
"That's what she remembered saying. People can be mistaken," said Bonnie Kase's attorney Elliot Shields, who filed the notice of claim. "She called for help. Whether or not it was conveyed (that he was deaf), they didn't provide that help."
When the deputies arrived at the motel that day, they were told by a motel staffer that Kase had a knife. Deputies kicked open the door to Kase's room, as he was in the bathtub. Kase can be seen in body-worn camera footage responding to officers first by saying "I'm in here," then, "What?" and, "I can't hear you."
When Kase opened the bathroom door, he was naked and holding a box cutter in his right hand. They told him to drop the knife, then opened fire. The entire encounter lasts about 30 seconds.
In a notice of claim filed Thursday, Shields argued that Bonnie Kase had told the 911 operator that Kase was "profoundly deaf." It also notes that Kase did not make any threatening movement and was standing naked on a wet tile floor when he was shot.
