Lawsuit seeks $23M for deputy shot in 2023 Tualatin apartment eviction

Published 3:53 pm Tuesday, August 5, 2025

A Washington County Sheriff’s Office civil deputy who was shot while trying to serve an eviction notice two years ago is suing the owners of a Tualatin apartment complex for $23 million.

The lawsuit is asking for compensation due to negligence after deputy Charles Dozé tried to serve an eviction notice to Krisafer Graves at The Timbers at Tualatin Apartments on July 26, 2023. 

Dozé was subsequently shot seven times by Graves and lost the use of his left eye in the incident. Graves was later found dead in his apartment.

In addition to the Timbers at Tualatin, the lawsuit also names a management company, investors and an apartment community director as those being sued. 

The suit claims that Graves had been terminated from his job on Oct. 21, 2021, and was “withdrawn, uncommunicative, and uncooperative with management at the property” as far back as April 2023. That included refusing to pay rent or answer phone calls, text messages or emails.

The lawsuit, filed July 25 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, also says that Graves had allegedly barricaded his door or put an unauthorized lock on his door, which management discovered when they tried to enter his apartment. 

When Dozé and other deputies arrived, they were told by maintenance workers that Graves had barricaded his door and gave officers permission to break down the door. Dozé claims in the lawsuit that having conducted about 100 evictions, he believes it was only the second time in his career that a landlord had agreed to allow a door to be taken down to evict a tenant. 

When Graves fired at officers and Dozé was struck, he “suffered severe injuries that left him permanently disabled,” according to the lawsuit.

The complaint states that the defendants named in the suit “should have reasonably suspected that Graves might pose a danger to himself or others.”

Other allegations include claims that the defendants were negligent by: not evicting Graves sooner; prohibiting the possession of firearms by all tenants; failing to conduct welfare checks of Graves despite tenant concerns; not exercising care and concern for the safety of police “despite a shooting taking place at another property owned, managed or controlled by defendants the day before.”

The lawsuit said the shooting caused Dozé to “suffer pain, terror, and mental suffering” and was seeking $20 million in non-economic damages and another $3 million for economic damages that include a loss of income, benefits and medical expenses.