A 68-year-old Vietnam War veteran who was suffering from dementia died six months after being slammed to the ground and paralyzed by an Alabama police officer in 2020. His story was highlighted in an Associated Press series examining the use of non-lethal force by members of law enforcement.

The ordeal began on Super Bowl Sunday when Carl Grant left to buy groceries and inadvertently drove from his home in Georgia to Alabama. Disoriented, the veteran attempted to enter a stranger’s home, believing it was his own. This led to the homeowner contacting the police. The officers handcuffed Grant but later realized he was suffering from dementia. Back at the precinct, they let him go.

About an hour later, Grant was found sitting in a porch chair in front of another home. Officers responded to a burglary call where they encountered the veteran.

Grant stood up and turned toward the front door. Body-camera video shows Officer Vincent Larry telling Grant he couldn’t enter and then shoving him down the porch steps.

Grant was facedown on the ground as Larry and other officers struggled to handcuff him. As they did, Grant cried out, “Call the police!”

These officers also began to recognize signs of confusion — Grant couldn’t tell them the day of the week or year. A sergeant asked Larry if they should take Grant into protective custody. Larry continued with the arrest, saying Grant assaulted him. Larry would write in his report Grant struck him with a closed fist, though he later told internal police investigators the shove caused Grant to turn and punch as he fell.

Officer Larry then accompanied Grant to the University of Alabama of Birmingham Hospital to be treated for a wound to his head that resulted from the fall. This is where the officer caused the injury that led to Grant being paralyzed.

That took a few hours. Now it was 3 a.m. Grant stepped out of an exam room, the officer wrote in his report, and told Larry he was going to charge his cellphone – the one his mind didn’t grasp was nearly 200 miles away. Larry wrote that he told Grant to stay because they would soon be discharged, but Grant refused.

Hospital surveillance video shows Larry reach for Grant’s arm and flip him over in what the police investigation described as a “hip toss” not taught at the academy. Grant landed on his back. A nurse estimated his head bounced four inches off the floor. His body was limp.

Larry rolled Grant over to his stomach and handcuffed him. It was the third time he had been restrained in six hours.

Grant died almost six months later. The death certificate worksheet lists his paralysis as the cause, attributing it to “physical assault with body slam.”

Ronda Hernandez, Grant’s partner of 30 years, described her sense of loss after his death. “I could still tuck him into bed, give him a kiss, say ‘I love you.’ I can’t do that now,” she lamented.

Grant’s brother, William Jenkins, filed a lawsuit in 2022. However, the judge dismissed the case because the city and Officer Larry were not given notice that a lawsuit would be filed before the legal deadline. Jenkin’s attorneys are appealing the ruling.

The city is no longer employing Larry, who received only a 15-day suspension as a consequence. He is now working as an officer part-time in a Birmingham suburb.

Grant’s story is a sobering reminder of how a lack of training, combined with an overzealous and aggressive police officer, can result in the loss of life.