PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputy is suing property managers of a Tualatin apartment complex after he was critically injured in a shooting while serving an eviction notice.

The lawsuit — seeking $23 million in damages — was filed July 25 against the Timbers at Tualatin apartment complex, the property’s community director Nicole Mutziger, property owners FPI Management and Pacific Urban Investors, LLC.

In the complaint, Washington County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Charles Dozé alleges the property managers were negligent by failing to inform deputies the tenant they were serving an eviction notice to was armed and say managers could have done more to de-escalate leading up to the day of the shooting.

The case goes back to July 26, 2023, when Dozé was dispatched to the Timbers at Tualatin complex — located along Southwest Nyberg Street — with other deputies to serve a court-ordered eviction notice to 34-year-old Kristafer James Graves.

According to Dozé’s lawsuit, Graves was “terminated from his employment” in October 2021, and was “noticeably withdrawn, uncommunicative, and uncooperative with management at the property, including Defendant Mutziger, from at least April 2023, having failed or refused to pay rent or to answer or respond to phone calls, text messages, and emails.”

The lawsuit claims that property management had previously tried to enter Graves’ apartment but found he either barricaded the door or installed an unauthorized lock.

Just before 10:30 a.m. the day of the shooting, when Dozé and the other deputies arrived at the complex, they were met by Mutziger and the property’s maintenance team, who warned that Graves barricaded the door to his apartment and gave the deputies permission to knock it down.

When Dozé and the deputies tried to enter the apartment, “Graves fired on the officers with a handgun,” the lawsuit says. Authorities noted Dozé suffered life-threatening gunshot wounds to his face, arms and chest.

Deputies fired back at Graves as he barricaded himself back in his apartment before Washington County’s Tactical Negotiations Team responded to the scene, and after gaining access inside the apartment, found Graves dead in the apartment bathroom, authorities said.

The lawsuit argues that the property management team was negligent and “should have reasonably suspected that Graves might pose a danger to himself or others,” adding they “had a duty to warn Dozé and his fellow officers of that reasonable suspicion and failed to do so.”

The complaint further alleges the property managers were negligent for “proceeding with eviction immediately,” rather than “through a series of inquiries to Graves.”

The lawsuit added that the property mangement team failed to de-escalate the situation after initially discovering Graves barricaded himself and failed to ban the possession of firearms by tenants as a condition of the lease and failed to conduct welfare checks on Graves.

The lawsuit seeks $20 million in non-economic damages for Dozé’s injuries, including “pain, terror, and mental suffering,” he faced in the period during and after his injuries, along with $3 million for economic damages for loss of income and benefits along with medical expenses.

In a statement to KOIN 6 News, a spokesperson for Washington County Sheriff’s Office said, “Chuck is an incredible human and a dedicated professional. His continued recovery is an inspiration. While healing, members of our team routinely reach out to check on him, and find him in good spirits.”

Pacific Urban Investors, LLC. declined to comment on the pending litigation.

KOIN 6 News has reached out to Nicole Mutziger, Timbers at Tualatin and FPI Management. This story will be updated if we receive a response.