The Washington Court of Appeals has affirmed a 2021 ruling that Pierce County is immune from a wrongful death lawsuit brought forward by the family of a sheriff deputy killed in the line of duty.

In January 2018, according to the appeals court's June 28 opinion, Pierce County Sheriff's Deputy Daniel McCartney was fatally shot when he responded to a home invasion alone. His family filed a suit in February 2021 alleging that McCartney faced "unreasonable working conditions" due to staffing shortages, the opinion said.