Blinded Oregon Deputy Shot in Eviction Gone Wrong Sues Property Owners for $23 Million

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. — A lawsuit claiming $23 million was filed in the Multnomah County Circuit Court by a Washington County sheriff’s deputy who was shot seven times, blinding him in the left eye, when he attempted to serve a tenant with an eviction notice.

The shooting took place at The Timbers of Tualatin apartment complex on July 26, 2023, when the tenant, Kris Graves, shot down the deputy in a hail of bullets after his apartment door was kicked down by another deputy sheriff.

The Deputy Was Shot Seven Times

Charles Dozé, who was 69 at the time, was caught in the ambush, sustaining seven bullet wounds. Dozé was instructed to serve an eviction notice on the tenant who had stopped paying his rent in April 2023.

Tenant Found Dead Hours Later

Graves (34) had covered up the windows of his unit and could be heard shouting late at night. He was unemployed. He was found dead in his apartment several hours after the shooting when the deputies gained entry to the unit.

Dozé, employed as an armed civil deputy in charge of serving legal papers, is seeking $23 million from the owners of the Timbers at Tualatin apartments – the Pacific Urban Investors of Palo Alto in California, the property manager FPI Management, realtors Cushman & Wakefield, and the community director of the site, Nicole Mutziger.

The lawsuit claims that the defendants failed to take reasonable steps after learning that Graves had barricaded his unit and changed the locks.