James Hodges Lawsuit: Claims, Defendants, and Outcome

James Hodges’s lawsuit against the Columbia County, Florida sheriff and two of his deputies ended in an out-of-court settlement in August 2024, after a federal judge dismissed the sheriff from the case and the two deputies then agreed to a stipulated dismissal with prejudice. The terms of the settlement were not publicly disclosed.¹²

What the Suit Was About

Hodges is a legally blind Navy veteran. On October 31, 2022, he was walking home in Lake City after his jury duty session was canceled, carrying a folded red-and-white navigation cane in his back pocket. Deputy Jayme Gohde stopped him because she thought the cane looked like a gun. Hodges pulled it out and identified it as a “navigating aid,” but Gohde pressed him for his name and date of birth. He refused. When Sergeant Randy Harrison arrived, Hodges again declined to identify himself and asked for the officers’ names and badge numbers. Harrison told Gohde: “You know what, put him in jail for resisting.”³

Hodges was booked on a charge of resisting an officer without violence and held for 26 hours in the Columbia County jail.² State Attorney John Durrett of Florida’s Third Judicial Circuit later declined to prosecute, saying the case “did not warrant prosecution,” and the charge was dropped.⁴

Who Hodges Sued

Hodges filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The case, Hodges v. Hunter et al., named Sheriff Mark Hunter, Deputy Gohde, and Sergeant Harrison as defendants and was assigned to Judge Marcia Morales Howard.¹ His attorney, John Phillips, publicly called for a federal investigation into the sheriff’s office.⁵

How the Case Ended

Sheriff Hunter moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim on January 4, 2024. On August 21, 2024, Judge Howard granted the motion in part, dismissing two counts and terminating Hunter as a defendant. Two days later, on August 23, 2024, Gohde and Harrison filed a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice. The case was terminated on August 26, 2024, and settled out of court on undisclosed terms.¹²

Discipline and What Happened to the Officers

Before the lawsuit resolved, an internal affairs investigation by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office concluded that both officers had violated department policy. Investigators found that Harrison gave an “unlawful order to make an arrest after probable cause did not exist” and that the stop should have ended once Hodges showed the cane. Gohde was faulted for unprofessional communication and for lacking working knowledge of the law governing the stop.⁶

Harrison was demoted, suspended for seven days without pay, and made ineligible for raises or promotions for two years. Gohde was suspended for two days without pay. Both were required to complete remedial civil rights training. Sheriff Hunter issued a videotaped apology, saying he took “full responsibility” and calling the deputies’ conduct “unacceptable,” though he said he did not believe they acted with “ill intent.”⁷

Hunter did not seek reelection in 2024. He was defeated in the Republican primary by Wallace Kitchings, a retired former chief deputy who took 53% of the vote, and left office in January 2025.⁸⁹ Hodges has since moved to North Georgia.³

1
PACER Monitor. Hodges v. Hunter et al
2
InvestigateTV. Blind Justice: People With Disabilities Mistaken for Non-Compliant Suspects
3
NBC News. Legally Blind Florida Man Arrested After Cane Confused for Gun
4
Lake City Reporter. CCSO Investigating Blind Man’s Arrest
5
News4Jax (WJXT). Legally Blind Lake City Man Sues for Wrongful Arrest
6
CBS4 (WJXT). Report Says Columbia County Sergeant Gave Illegal Order to Arrest Legally Blind Man
7
Lake City Reporter. Sheriff Suspends Deputies for Policy Violations
8
WCJB. Columbia County Residents Vote for Sheriff in Florida Primary Election
9
WCJB. Columbia County Sheriff Reflects on 16-Year Career on Final Day