Family of man killed by sheriff’s deputies files suit

The adult daughter of a man shot and killed by Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputies has filed a lawsuit that says deputies used cruel and unusual punishment when they shot the 44-year-old man, then didn’t allow paramedics to treat him for an hour and 45 minutes.

Sheriff’s Office officials have said Billy Grimm never held up both his hands to show he was unarmed after he was shot, so deputies had to proceed with caution for nearly two hours before they could tell he was unarmed and allow paramedics to try to help him. Felicia Romero, a sheriff’s spokeswoman, said deputies have to make sure scenes are safe and secure

before allowing paramedics to enter.

According to recordings, police and other reports on the May 2015 shooting the following events transpired: Deputies were called to the area of Tapia and Arenal in the South Valley on a reported fight between a man and a woman and Grimm and his girlfriend, Destiny Cardenas, who were having car trouble.

Cardenas reported that she and Grimm were yelling at each other. Grimm was intoxicated and had drugs in his system, according to District Attorney’s Office records.

Deputy Daryl Tidwell was trying to interview Grimm, who was seated in a truck, about the reported argument.

Tidwell, in a recording, keeps asking Grimm to get out of the car, but he refuses. The deputy starts trying to pull Grimm from the truck.

Deputy Greg Grundhoffer then yells that Grimm is armed with a gun, and the deputy opens fire. Grimm was shot in the jaw and face, according to his daughter’s lawsuit.

Days after the shooting, the sheriff released audio recordings of the shooting and the events that led up to it. The recordings included a statement Grundhoffer made when he explained why he opened fire.

“Tidwell was going for the extract,” Grundhoffer explained to another deputy who arrived on scene. “I looked through the windshield on my side and he started pulling it up. That’s when I yelled ‘gun’ and engaged him.”

After the shooting, a standoff ensued between Grimm and deputies for the next hour and 45 minutes. Eventually, Grimm fell from the truck and landed on the ground. But deputies couldn’t see one of his hands. It wasn’t until after they shot him with a bean bag and unleashed a police canine on him that it became apparent that Grimm had no weapon in his hand.

A handgun was found on the floor of the truck where Grimm was sitting. No DNA or fingerprints was recovered from the weapon, according to police reports.

Jim Ellis, an attorney for the Grimm family, said blood would likely have gotten on the gun if it were in Grimm’s possession.

“There was blood everywhere,” he said.

Cardenas told investigators that she didn’t know that Grimm had a weapon and never saw him with one that night. She disputed that he pointed it at deputies.

District Attorney Kari Brandenburg’s office has said that no charges will be brought against Grundhoffer over the shooting.

“That’s apples and oranges to what we’re trying to do,” Ellis said. “The fact that the DA felt she couldn’t indict the officer in a criminal case and put them in prison means nothing in this case.”

Grimm’s adult daughter, Jocelin Grimm, filed the lawsuit last month. The case, filed in 2nd Judicial District Court, seeks damages from the county.

“Because of the actions of the deputies, Billy Grimm suffered hours of unspeakable pain and suffering, which ultimately culminated in his unlawful death,” Ellis wrote in the lawsuit. “Sheriff deputies were able to see both of Billy Grimm’s hands at numerous times throughout the ordeal but nevertheless refused to render medical assistance, despite Billy’s numerous and repeated pleas for help.”