The man who was shot by an Ashtabula officer while police responded to his home for reports of an intruder last year filed a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Ashtabula and the two officers involved.
Brendan Hester was shot by officer Daniel Gillespie when Gillespie and officer Spencer Gale went to his house in the early hours of June 2, 2017. The officers were responding to a call of an intruder in the home.
Hester was in critical condition for months and, according to the lawsuit, still remains disabled as a result of being shot.
Hester was shot in the home where he lived with his brother, his brother's girlfriend and their daughter. Hester was protecting the family from an intruder when the call for help was made, according to the lawsuit.
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When officers arrived, Hester was holding the intruder at gunpoint, but according to the suit filed, he was shot without being given a chance to drop the weapon. Ashtabula Police Chief Robert Stell said Hester was shot after failing to comply with a police command to drop the gun.
Gillespie was placed on paid administrative leave after the incident, which is standard procedure.
