Executive Summary
- A judge dismissed a lawsuit against Tacoma Police regarding the 2021 murder of Gaylee Valente-Curcio.
- The suit alleged police failed to enforce a protection order against her killer, Tony Rico Sanders.
- City attorneys successfully argued officers lacked probable cause to arrest Sanders prior to the attack.
- The victim’s family plans to appeal the decision, citing failures in domestic violence protection protocols.
A Pierce County Superior Court judge has dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the Tacoma Police Department (TPD) by the father of Gaylee Valente-Curcio, a 44-year-old woman stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend in 2021. The lawsuit, which alleged that officers failed to enforce a domestic violence protection order in the days leading up to the murder, was dismissed with prejudice in January, with a request for reconsideration denied earlier this month, according to court records.
Gilbert Valente filed the complaint in December 2024, seeking accountability for what he described as police mishandling of his daughter’s calls for help. Valente-Curcio was attacked and stabbed more than 40 times by Tony Rico Sanders in November 2021 outside her new residence. Sanders, who hid outside the home before the attack, was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life in prison. The victim died eight days after the assault.
The lawsuit centered on allegations that TPD officers did not take action during two separate incidents where Sanders allegedly violated a court order. Three weeks prior to the murder, Sanders had been arrested for fourth-degree assault against Valente-Curcio. Following his release, Valente-Curcio obtained a protection order prohibiting Sanders from coming within 1,000 feet of her. The plaintiff contended that officers failed to arrest Sanders after reports that he had returned to their formerly shared home and was later seen near her new residence where utility lines had been cut.
In their motion to dismiss, Tacoma city attorneys argued that officers were unable to establish probable cause for an arrest during the reported violations. According to court filings, the victim did not provide the threatening messages she received for investigation, nor could she definitively identify the person seen near her new home. The city maintained that Washington state law does not recognize claims of negligent police investigation in this context and asserted that the police did not create a “new risk” to the victim that would establish a specific duty to protect.
Attorney Samuel Daheim, representing the victim’s father, stated that the family intends to appeal the dismissal. Daheim told The News Tribune that the ruling is inconsistent with the spirit of laws designed to protect domestic violence victims. “Gaylee did everything she was supposed to do under the law,” Daheim wrote, criticizing the police for “hiding behind the flimsy excuse that they were just on the outskirts of probable cause.”
Legal & Procedural Implications
The dismissal of this case highlights the substantial legal hurdles plaintiffs face when attempting to hold law enforcement agencies civilly liable for the criminal acts of third parties. Under the public duty doctrine often applied in such jurisdictions, police generally owe a duty to the public at large rather than to specific individuals, unless a “special relationship” is established. The court’s ruling reinforces the strict evidentiary standards required to prove that police inaction directly resulted in a wrongful death, particularly when probable cause for an immediate arrest is disputed by the defense. It is important to note that while Tony Rico Sanders has been convicted, regarding the historical arrests and charges mentioned in the lawsuit filings, all individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
