‘He was not under arrest.’ Family of man shot dead by officers in Puyallup files lawsuit

Family members of a domestic-violence assault suspect killed by Pierce County-area law enforcement in Puyallup nearly two years ago allege improper police procedure led to a shooting that they call “unnecessary,” according to a civil rights lawsuit filed in federal court in Tacoma.

Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett determined in December that a Buckley officer, Puyallup officer and sheriff’s deputy were each justified in shooting 30-year-old Quincy Bishop of Carbonado because they had a reasonable fear he reached for a handgun tucked in his waistband.

The Buckley officer, Arthur Fetter, fired first during a struggle with Bishop, followed by shots from the two other officers. Fetter is named in the lawsuit alleging excessive force and negligence, along with the city of Buckley and Police Chief Kurt Alfano.

Alfano declined to comment about the case in an email, citing the pending litigation. He said the city hired an outside law firm to defend against the lawsuit, which was filed Friday.

“Fetter did not control the situation, lied to Quincy, improperly started to pull him out of the truck after telling him that he was not under arrest, and then panicked when he saw a gun,” an attorney representing the Bishop family, Jack Connelly, told The News Tribune in an email.

The Bishops are longtime Orting-area residents, and Bishop’s father is a former Buckley officer, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit asked for an unspecified award in addition to punitive damages. The News Tribune was not immediately able to obtain a copy of the preceding tort claim filed with the city of Buckley in May 2021.

The confrontation with police on Nov. 1, 2020, stemmed from a report that Bishop fought with his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend, threatened to burn down her Carbonado home and held a knife to her throat after showing up at the house and demanding to see his two daughters around 9 a.m. Bishop left after he reportedly threatened the woman and their children once more.

Fetter knew Bishop and his brother from high school and arranged with the brother to meet at his house in Puyallup, according to the lawsuit. Fetter arrived at the brother’s house in the 1700 block of Kilt Court with Puyallup officer Barclay Tuell, deputy Travis Calderwood and a second deputy who did not shoot.

Fetter told Bishop twice that he was not under arrest and gave him permission to get his wallet from his truck before going to the police station, according to the lawsuit. While getting the wallet, Bishop reportedly asked why he couldn’t drive himself if he wasn’t under arrest.

The lawsuit alleges Fetter “unreasonably and unnecessarily escalated” the incident when he grabbed Bishop’s hands and said he could “either go the easy way or the hard way.” A struggle ensued as Fetter pulled Bishop from the car.

Fetter then stepped back and shot Bishop, prompting Tuell and Calderwood to fire, according to the lawsuit.

Bishop’s brother watched the shooting, according to the lawsuit. He was then detained in a police car.

Bishop died at the scene.

Law enforcement officials described the encounter outside Bishop’s brother’s home differently.

In their telling, Bishop climbed into his truck and refused to cooperate. Fetter grabbed the keys and pulled Bishop out when he tried to start it, leading to a struggle.

Bishop put his hand on a pistol tucked into his pants, and Fetter warned the other officers he was armed.

Fetter fired a single shot when Bishop continued trying to grab his gun, then Tuell and Calderwood shot Bishop as they rushed to help Fetter.

The lawsuit alleges Buckley police did not have proper training, including in de-escalation techniques.

“It was an unnecessary shooting,” Connelly wrote in an email to The News Tribune. “The matter was handled about as poorly as it could have been and completely ignored standard police procedures.”