Andy Grimm was out with his camera chasing a Lightning Storm in New Carlisle, close to Dayton in Ohio, at around 10 PM on Monday. He wanted to catch images for the New Carlisle News, where he works with his father. Grimm set up his tripod in the parking lot of the Studebaker’s Restaurant near Main Street in New Carlisle to capture images of the storm, but Grimm suddenly turned his attention to a nearby Traffic Stop, where a Clark County Sheriff’s deputy apparently mistook his camera for a weapon.
Grimm and the deputy reportedly know each other and Grimm was in clear sight of the officer.
However, the photographer was shot in his side and was rushed by first responders to a local hospital, where he is expected to survive his injuries. The photographer’s father, Dale Grimm is the publisher of the newspaper and told reporters there was no warning before the deputy opened fire. He said his son was not told to show his hands, or drop whatever he was carrying, before he was shot by the deputy.
Clark County Deputy mistakes camera for weapon
Grimm told the New Carlisle News that he thought it would be “cool” to get photos of the traffic stop and had just turned around to face the cars when he heard the “pop, pop” of the gun being fired. Grimm added that he was just doing his job when it happened.
Ohio deputy shoots news photographer during traffic stop - https://t.co/BOhEWD6Xxl https://t.co/59xmg0r9Xg
— Joelle Dewulf (@joelle_dewulf) September 5, 2017
As reported by Cleveland.com, it was Clark County Deputy Jake Shaw that was on duty at the traffic stop at the time of the incident and who mistook Grimm’s camera for a weapon before opening fire and shooting him.
First responders soon arrived at the scene to take him to hospital.
News photographer in a stable condition after the shooting
Grimm phoned his father from the ambulance while en route to the Miami Valley Hospital to tell him what had happened. While Andy is “terribly sore,” his father said he was in good spirits after spending the night in hospital and undergoing surgery and is in a stable condition.
Dale said his son likes the deputy and isn’t looking for him to be punished or to get fired for his mistake. The newspaper also headed to its Facebook page to ask the public not to criticize Shaw for his error.
Cop shoots #Ohio journalist after confusing camera for gun https://t.co/4qLr5xxMQM
— jonestowne (@jonestowne) September 5, 2017
In the newspaper’s report they say Grimm is well known for his love of photography in the area and that they had received an outpouring of concerned messages on their Facebook page. However Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the incident to establish why Shaw saw a threat from the photographer, leading to the shooting incident.