Lawrence County Prosecutor J.B. Collier Jr., will not presentLawrence County Sheriff’s deputy Aaron Bollinger’s case to the grand jury next month.

Collier said Thursday he plans to ask Judge Charles Cooper to appoint an independent attorney to present Bollinger’s case.

“I have read the report and it appears that it was simply an accident,” Collier said, referring to a report about the shooting from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. “But for me to make that conclusion– because he was in a sense working for me at the time. I just think for appearance’s sake it would be best to have a special prosecutor appointed.”

Bollinger is a Lawrence County Sheriff’s detective and member of the Drug Task Force who shot Johnny Stapleton, 28, of Ashland, Ky, during a traffic stop in Ironton in June.

Bollinger has been on administrative leave since the incident and will continue to be at least until the grand jury meets early next month to decide whether or not Bollinger should face criminal charges, Sheriff Jeff Lawless said earlier this week.

The report from the BCI and I has not been made public because the investigation is still pending, Collier said.

“I’m sure that once the investigation is over it will be made available to the media,” he said.