Pierce County police pursuit turned deadly. Should deputies, WA be held liable?

Yahoo

21-05-2025

A man whose wife was killed when someone fleeing police crashed into their vehicle near Parkland is suing Pierce County and the state, alleging that the Department of Corrections failed to properly supervise the other driver and that sheriff's deputies shouldn't have given chase.
Stephanie LaGuardia, 47, died in March 2022 after the vehicle she was riding in with her husband, Ernesto LaGuardia, was struck at high speed by Zakery M. Bonds around the 9600 block of Pacific Avenue. Bonds had just nearly hit a sheriff's patrol vehicle in a parking lot and appeared disoriented as deputies tried to make contact with him upon spotting him rev his engine and drive onto a curb, authorities said.
Bonds, who later was determined to have been under the influence of drugs, sped past traffic in a turn lane and went around vehicles stopped at a red light before crashing into the LaGuardias. Bonds, 40, was sentenced in February to 27 years in prison for vehicular homicide and DUI vehicular assault.
In a lawsuit filed this month in Pierce County Superior Court, Ernesto LaGuardia alleged that the state and Pierce County were liable for the crash that killed his wife and left him badly injured.
Two Pierce County deputies who chased Bonds' silver Dodge Charger were negligent and contributed to the wreck by failing to follow department policy and state law, according to the suit.
The complaint cited department policy requiring deputies to weigh the risks of pursuit with the importance of apprehending a suspect, and a state law (House Bill 1054) in effect at the time precluded authorities from pursuing suspects unless they were alleged to have committed certain crimes, such as violent or sex offenses or a DUI.
'Had the deputies followed their department's policies and procedures, and/or HB 1054's requirements, and had they taken into account the conditions (darkness) and high rate of speed at which they were pursuing Bonds, they would not have engaged in the pursuit that was a proximate cause of the collision that led to the Plaintiffs' injuries,' the suit said.
Sheriff's Office spokesperson Carly Cappetto said in an email Tuesday that the office would consider issuing a statement once the case was closed.
The lawsuit, filed on May 12, also accused the Washington State Department of Corrections of failing to provide adequate oversight of Bonds and said it was a causal factor of his presence and ability to commit crimes in Pierce County.
Bonds, whose lengthy criminal history dates back to his juvenile years in Tennessee, racked up eight convictions in Washington for attempting to elude police between 2014 and 2019, according to court records, with most stemming from Mason County, located west of Pierce County.
After being incarcerated, Bonds was released in December 2020 into community custody — a parole-like supervision overseen by the Department of Corrections (DOC) — in Kitsap County, related to offenses including attempting to elude law enforcement and drug crimes, the lawsuit said.
Bonds violated the conditions of his supervision on multiple occasions, including by consuming controlled substances, missing appointments for substance-abuse treatment and not living at a DOC-approved address, according to the suit. In spring 2022, the department was aware that Bonds' behavior had become so 'increasingly concerning and bizarre' that his grandmother repeatedly contacted his assigned community-custody officer to seek help because Bonds was 'out of control,' the suit claimed.
The DOC didn't meaningfully act on the violations of Bonds' supervision, the suit said, adding that only after discovering he had disappeared for nearly three weeks did the department issue a warrant for his arrest. Even then, it allegedly made no active attempts to locate him or bring him into custody.
A week after the warrant was issued, Stephanie LaGuardia would be dead.
'DOC does not comment on pending litigation, but our Community Corrections Division plays a crucial role in promoting public safety while reintegrating incarcerated individuals into society,' department spokesperson Chris Wright said in a statement Tuesday. 'We currently supervise nearly 14,000 people in communities across the state and our employees provide guidance, support and program opportunities for individuals on our caseload while holding them accountable to their court-imposed conditions.'
Wright added that the department, which works closely with local and federal law enforcement to bring into custody people who have violated their conditions, just last week helped locate and apprehend suspects in Mason County and at the Nevada-California state line who were on community supervision and fled.
A message left for the attorney representing Ernesto LaGuardia, who's suing on behalf of himself and as the personal representative for his late wife's estate, was not immediately returned Tuesday.
The suit is seeking unspecified damages to be proven at trial and legal fees, as well as any other relief deemed appropriate by the court.
Ernesto and Stephanie LaGuardia were married for about 20 years and had four dogs: Princess, Oliver, Mila and Ty, The News Tribune previously reported. They were in the process of moving from Auburn to the Tacoma area on the night Stephanie LaGuardia was killed.
'Each day feels like I am walking through life in a fog,' Ernesto LaGuardia said at Bonds' sentencing hearing in February. 'I find myself missing her smile, this wonderful voice, the way she would make my day better by being near me. My world has become quieter and darker.'