$100 Million Federal Jury Verdict for Man Paralyzed After Atlanta Officer Deployed Taser Without Warning

On July 10, 2018, Jerry Blasingame was panhandling near the Windsor Street on-ramp to Interstate 20 in Atlanta when Officer Jon Grubbs of the Atlanta Police Department began chasing him on foot. Grubbs deployed his Taser in dart mode, striking Blasingame in the back without issuing a verbal warning. Blasingame, then 65 years old, tumbled down a steep embankment and struck his head. The fall crushed his skull and severed his spinal cord, leaving him quadriplegic and requiring around-the-clock care for the rest of his life.

Blasingame had no weapon. He posed no immediate threat to anyone. He had not been given an opportunity to comply before the Taser was fired. Grubbs returned to full active duty six months after the incident.

Ven Johnson and Ayanna Hatchett of Ven Johnson Law, PLC, together with co-counsel Darren Tobin of Tobin Injury Law in Atlanta, tried the case before Judge Steve C. Jones in the Northern District of Georgia. Trial began with jury selection on August 17, 2022. The plaintiff's team presented medical testimony establishing that Blasingame's projected lifetime care costs exceeded $1 million per year, on top of $14 million in medical expenses already incurred. The attorneys argued that the Taser was deployed on a man who posed no threat, with no warning, in violation of the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on excessive force.

The jury returned a verdict on August 26, 2022: $100 million in total damages, comprising $20 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in punitive damages against Grubbs personally, and $60 million in compensatory damages against the City of Atlanta.

Post-trial proceedings reduced the award in stages, all at the district-court level. Judge Jones granted the city's motion and struck the $60 million municipal portion, finding that Blasingame's attorneys had not established that a city policy or training failure caused the violation. He also granted Grubbs's motion for remittitur and cut the punitive damages against him from $20 million to $1 million, leaving a $21 million judgment against the officer: $20 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages. On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit issued its opinion on June 30, 2026, rejecting Grubbs's qualified-immunity defense and affirming the district court's rulings in all respects, so the $21 million judgment against him stood. The panel noted that Blasingame presented no immediate threat, was not behaving erratically, and received no warning before Grubbs fired.

Jerry Blasingame died on September 7, 2023, while the appeals were still pending. The case proceeded through his court-appointed conservator. Grubbs, whose annual salary is approximately $92,000, is subject to wage garnishment to satisfy the judgment.