In 2018, Rochester police officers and SWAT team members Jeremy Nellist and Joshua Kelly traversed plaintiff Erin Gursslin's backyard during the course of executing a high-risk search warrant three properties to the north.

On their return they encountered and killed Gursslin's dog Nina. Gursslin sued under 42 USC §1983 for unreasonable search of the curtilage to her property, unlawfully seizing her, and unlawfully seizing Nina, contrary to the Fourth Amendment.