The family of a 54-year-old Portland-area man who died after a Clark County Sheriff’s deputy stabbed him 17 times in the back filed a $27 million tort claim against the county on Thursday.
The claim also alleges that Deputy Bryson Layton’s body-worn camera suddenly shut off as he and drunken-driving suspect Marc Fogle tussled at a Washington State Patrol station, where Fogle had been taken to undergo a breath test after he admitted to drinking and crashing his car into a parked van on a Vancouver street on May 7, 2025.
The deputy could be heard exclaiming, “He’s reaching for my gun!” seconds before the body-cam video ceases recording for 71 seconds. When the video turns back on, Fogle is handcuffed on his belly on the floor and bleeding from many stab wounds.
The claim says that the deputy could have been the only one to deactivate his body camera. It also says that after the stabbing, the deputy and other colleagues muted the sound on their body cameras to discuss what had just unfolded.
“Body cameras have been highly important evidence in use-of-force cases,” the family’s attorney, Mark Lindquist, said in a news release Thursday. “Here, the muting or shutting down of body cameras raises serious questions that need to be answered.”
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment because of the tort claim, which gives the county notice of possible litigation. Lindquist said that under Washington law, the family is required to file a tort claim and can follow that with a lawsuit 60 days later.
A state investigatory report said that Layton, the deputy, reported that he ended up on his back — face-to-face with Fogle, who was on top of him — during the scuffle. Layton said he began stabbing as Fogle tried to gain control of his gun.
Lawyers for Fogle’s family say the deputy used his “personal” dagger, which wasn’t issued or authorized by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
Body-cam footage shows that Fogle was deeply upset or depressed when he crashed his car. Police responded at about 11 p.m. near the intersection of Northeast 14th Court and Minnehaha Street in Vancouver.
“Clearly, I’ve been drinking, and I ran into these cars,” Fogle said.
He also lamented that he thought “my life is (expletive) over.” He explained that he had a commercial driver’s license.
Fogle was a resident of the Clackamas area, according to the state report.
After he was taken to the Washington State Patrol station, Layton gave Fogle the opportunity to call a lawyer. Fogle later said his lawyer advised him to decline a breath test, according to the body-cam footage.
After Fogle made a comment about being alone in the room with the deputy, the deputy asked Fogle if he was making a threat. That’s when Layton tried to put handcuffs back on Fogle, but Fogle wouldn’t turn around, according to the state investigation. The two began to wrestle.
“I’m fighting with one … he’s reaching for my gun!” the deputy said into his radio.
Then the deputy warned Fogle: “Marc, you’re going to get fucking shot!”
Fogle then responded, “Yeah, yeah, that’s what I want.”
Thursday’s tort claim says the deputy could have used his Taser instead of pulling out a dagger. The claim says that the Taser, a less-lethal weapon, was designed to be used in close-contact situations, with “zero feet” between a suspect and a law enforcement officer.
At the time Fogle was stopped by police in Vancouver, he declined medical attention. But the tort claim faults the Clark County Sheriff’s Office for failing to call for medical aid, stating that the front of Fogle’s car was seriously damaged, the airbags had deployed and Fogle seemed dazed. That’s an indication of a possible concussion or traumatic brain injury, the claim says.
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