A Columbus police officer who shot a fleeing man in the groin during a 2022 encounter will not face federal civil liability, at least for now. U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley has thrown out the civil-rights lawsuit brought by Jaylen Fisher, ruling that the officer’s use of force did not violate the Fourth Amendment.
In a decision that followed a close review of the case record and body-worn camera footage, Marbley granted summary judgment to Officer Grady Kissee and the City of Columbus. The ruling effectively shuts down Fisher’s federal case at the trial-court level, while leaving open the standard post-trial options his side could still pursue.
Judge's Ruling and Reasoning
In an opinion signed March 5, Marbley concluded that a reasonable jury could not find that Kissee used excessive force during the confrontation with Fisher. According to Justia Dockets & Filings, the judge emphasized that officers were responding to a report of shots fired and were confronted with what he described as a rapidly evolving situation.
The opinion leaned heavily on established Sixth Circuit precedent that gives officers some leeway when they are forced to make split-second use-of-force decisions. Marbley wrote that, viewed through that legal lens and against the backdrop of the body-cam footage, Fisher’s constitutional claims could not survive.
Body-Cam Timeline and the Shooting
The encounter itself was brief and chaotic. Video reviewed in the case shows officers jumping out of a cruiser, chasing Fisher around the corner of a school, and within roughly seven seconds, one officer firing two shots. As reported by The Columbus Dispatch, the footage captures Fisher tossing a firearm at almost the same moment the shots ring out.
The court’s opinion recounts that one round hit Fisher in the thigh while the other ruptured a testicle. That single detail would later drive much of the public attention around the case and the lawsuit that followed.
Injuries and the Federal Complaint
Court filings state that Fisher underwent a diagnostic laparoscopy so doctors could remove a bullet from his scrotum. The injury left his left testicle shattered and, according to the complaint, resulted in lasting physical and sexual difficulties along with incontinence.
Fisher filed his lawsuit on February 28, 2024. He brought a § 1983 excessive-force claim against Kissee and a Monell claim against the City of Columbus, arguing that city policies and practices contributed to the shooting, along with additional state-law claims.
Where the Encounter Began
The foot chase did not start in a vacuum. Police were responding to reports of shots fired at a Marathon gas station on East Livingston Avenue. Early local coverage of the March 1, 2022, shooting put the scene at 3377 E. Livingston Ave. and reported that officers arrived just after 4:20 p.m., according to Spectrum News.
What the Ruling Means
Marbley’s summary-judgment decision rests on a detailed reading of the body-cam video and Sixth Circuit case law that governs how courts evaluate fast-moving use-of-force encounters. His ruling dismisses Fisher’s remaining federal claims against both Kissee and the city at this stage of the litigation.
According to Justia Dockets & Filings, Marbley also noted that Fisher was never charged in connection with the gas-station shooting that initially drew officers to the scene. The judge acknowledged that fact, but said it did not change his analysis, given the information officers had at the time and the reported violent crime they believed they were responding to.
