The lawsuit stemmed from a 2017 arrest during which McGough was detained by Maricopa County Sheriff s Office deputies and a U.S. Forest Service Officer near the Salt River, where he had been tubing with friends. A scuffle allegedly took place between officers and McGough, culminating in his take-down. One of the involved deputies, David Crissinger, broke his leg during the tackle. McGough was handcuffed and taken to a nearby substation. Inside a holding cell at the station, Deputy Shaun Eversole sicced a K9 on McGough for around three minutes while he was still handcuffed. Roughly a year later, McGough filed a lawsuit against Penzone, Eversole, and the other involved officers in federal court, alleging that they committed assault and torture.
Back in 2018,
Phoenix New Times broke the story about how the inmate who was attacked, Shane McGough, filed a federal complaint against Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone, K9 handler Shaun Eversole and other involved deputies, and a U.S. Forest Service Officer over the incident. McGough alleged in the filing that the deputies committed assault and torture, lied in police reports, and violated his civil rights. The Maricopa County Sheriff s Office (MCSO) also opened internal and criminal investigations into the incident, but the probes faced delays. McGough s lawsuit is ongoing and expected to go to trial. However, the Forest Service Officer and one of the deputies have been removed from the case as defendants.