Unarmed WA Man Was in His Bed When Police Shot Him 16 Times

Taxpayers will fork over millions for the cops' actions

SEATTLE — Lawyers for Dustin Theoharis, an Auburn man who was shot 16 times in his bed by a sheriff's deputy and a DOC officer, say they are filing a $20 million lawsuit against the state Department of Corrections.

It comes on the heels of a scathing report calling for change in the King County Sheriff's Office.

"Dustin just had his 12th surgery to reconstruct his jaw, which was basically shattered from one of the bullets," Eric Heipt, one of the attorneys for Theoharis, said Wednesday.

The county recently agreed to pay him $3 million despite the finding that the shooting was justified.

A total of 16 bullets hit Theoharis in February 2012, when a King County sheriff's deputy and a DOC officer opened fire on him while serving a search warrant at the Auburn home where he lived.