Ellis v. County of Pierce, No. 24-1361 (2025) Excessive Force Claim

Facts

• Jenni Ellis was the plaintiff. The incident involved Pierce County Deputies and the sheriff’s office’s K9 “Zepp.”  

• The deputies responded to a domestic assault call from her boyfriend, Eric Vankirk.  

• Upon arrival:

• Ellis had left the residence 10 to 15 minutes before the deputies arrived. She was wearing slippers and pajamas and had walked out of the house in the rain.  

• Vankirk and his son told the deputies Ellis was unarmed, carrying a bottle of alcohol, and posed no threat.  

• There was a prior history: the boyfriend had called 911 about Ellis before. Deputies expressed frustration. One reportedly said, “This time, we are going to teach her a lesson.”  

• Probable cause was found to exist for an arrest based on domestic assault (assault 4th degree, domestic violence) by intoxication.  

What the Deputy Did, K9 Deployment & Bite

• Deputy Levi Redding arrived with K9 Zepp. Redding announced outside the house that a police dog would search the area; that if Ellis did not give up, the dog would find her and possibly bite her.  

• Zepp was put in a tracking harness with a 30-foot lead.  

• Deputies searched for about 12 minutes with no success. Zepp was later given a second search command.  

• Zepp displayed what were described as “extreme positive indicators” that someone was very near.  

• Zepp then darted around a tall hedge into a neighboring yard. Redding lost sight of Zepp, felt the leash slack, and heard a female scream.  

• Redding went around the hedge and found Zepp biting and holding Ellis’s left arm, trying to pull her out from under a boat trailer, while Ellis fended off with her right hand.  

Actions During / After the Bite

• Redding admitted that he could have ordered Zepp to release her, but did not give that command immediately. He gave other commands: “show me your hands” and “let go of K9 Zepp.”  

• The bite/hold continued for somewhere between 25 and 41 seconds after Zepp first contacted Ellis.  

• Ellis’s version differed: she testified she had not been fleeing or hiding, never heard the police dog-warning, was unarmed, and never tried to hide under the boat. She said she was walking around the neighborhood, then decided to return home when the attack occurred.  

Injury & Aftermath

• Ellis was taken to the hospital for her injuries. She suffered lasting damage to her left arm.  

Legal Claims & Procedural Posture

• Ellis brought a § 1983 claim for excessive force under the Fourth Amendment against Deputy Redding.  

• She also made state-law negligence claims and asserted vicarious liability against the County.  

• The Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s denial of summary judgment on the Fourth Amendment excessive force claim—meaning that Deputy Redding could not claim qualified immunity on that claim under the facts as alleged.  

• The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court in part with respect to the state-law negligence and immunity claims. Specifically, the state negligence claims (or immunity for negligence under Washington law) were reversed (i.e., those claims are not allowed) against Pierce County on that basis.