Jamie Morales wins change of venue for civil lawsuit

SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ) — A civil lawsuit involving injured Scott County Sheriff’s Deputy Jaime Morales is being moved to a different county.

A Scott County judge granted Morales’ request for a change of venue and the trial will now be held in Woodford County.

Morales filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Georgetown, its police department and others.

According to the Georgetown News-Graphic, the reasons cited for the change of venue request: one defendant’s close ties to the court and community and that Scott County jurors may “wrongly believe they will be financially responsible for any judgment”.

Morales was paralyzed in 2018 during a joint operation between the Georgetown Police Department and Scott County Sheriff’s Office to arrest a serial bank robbery suspect.

An investigation by Kentucky State Police determined Morales was struck by friendly fire but did not identify who fired the shot.

Morales’ lawsuit claims the police department did not properly train members of the department’s special response team.

The newspaper also states two defendants listed in the lawsuit filed objections to the change of venue.

We reached out to the city for comment and haven’t heard back.