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."