Grandview Heights man gets five years in prison for breaking officer's hand with spiked bat

A man who smashed a Grandview Heights police officer's hand with a spiked baseball bat was sentenced Monday to five years in prison.

Grant A. Metters, 58, of Grandview Heights, was convicted in September by a Franklin County jury of felonious assault on a peace officer, which carries a mandatory prison term.

The sentence was imposed by Common Pleas Judge Colleen O'Donnell.

The incident occurred on Sept. 25, 2019, after officers responded to a neighborhood dispute on the 1300 block of Glenn Avenue, where records show Metters is co-owner of a home.

Testimony established that Metters was in a dispute with a neighbor over dog feces in his yard. When Grandview Heights police officers arrived, they found that Metters was intoxicated, uncooperative and had an outstanding warrant for a traffic offense.

Officers said that Metters refused to come out of his house to be arrested on the warrant, and used a baseball bat studded with nails and screws to begin smashing his front door from the inside.

Officer Greg Gillespie reached through the shattered door in an effort to use pepper spray on Metters, who swung the bat and struck the officer's right hand. The impact fractured and punctured Gillespie's hand.

Gillespie's injuries required multiple surgeries and led to a lengthy disability leave. He has since returned to duty.

At sentencing, Metters was credited with the 235 days he spent in jail after his arrest.

Under the Reagan Tokes Act, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction can hold Metters for up two and a half years beyond his sentence based on his behavior in prison.

jfutty@dispatch

@johnfutty

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Bat-wielding man sentenced to prison for assaulting Grandview officer