Attorney claims Spokane County deputy showed up at wrong house, pointed gun at his wife

A local attorney is suing the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, alleging a deputy pointed a gun at his wife while responding to the wrong address for a home burglary alarm two years ago.

Attorney Doug Phelps filed the lawsuit in Superior Court this month, claiming his wife Peggy “continues to suffer from post-trauma symptoms” as a result of the Feb. 27, 2016, incident in the couple’s home in Millwood, which doubles as the office of the Phelps and Associates law firm.

The lawsuit states that Peggy Phelps, who is in her late 60s and walks with a prosthetic leg, was home alone that morning when she heard knocking on the front door. Not wanting to deal with visitors, she did not answer. Then, the lawsuit states, she heard someone entering the house through a side door, and she went to see who it was.

“Mrs. Phelps arrived in her kitchen and was greeted by a loaded handgun pointed directly at her, held by an unknown man in a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office uniform, who was later identified as Deputy Thomas E. Edelbrock,” the lawsuit states. “Concerned and fearful she would be shot by this man in a sheriff’s deputy uniform but confused as to his purpose there, she asked why he was in her home and why he was pointing a gun at her.”

According to the lawsuit, Edelbrock informed Peggy Phelps he was responding to a report of a burglary alarm in the 2800 block of North Stout Road, and she informed the deputy there was no burglary at her home, and the address he was looking for was on the other end of the block. According the lawsuit, the Phelps’ address, 2903 N. Stout Road, was clearly posted on several parts of the property.

The lawsuit states that Edelbrock demanded to see Phelps’ identification and kept his weapon “trained” on her while she retrieved her ID from a room in the back of the house.

“She goes, ‘Quit pointing the gun at me,’ and he goes, ‘Not until I see some ID,’ ” Doug Phelps said in a phone call Wednesday. “My wife was pretty scared by it all.”

The lawsuit states that Edelbrock eventually holstered his gun, and Peggy Phelps led the deputy out of the house. It states that Doug Phelps later called the sergeant in charge of Edelbrock, who denied pointing the gun at Peggy Phelps.

The sheriff’s office on Thursday referred questions to Spokane County’s risk-management department. The director of the department, Steve Bartel, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The lawsuit alleges several types of wrongdoing, including assault, trespassing, negligence, excessive force, “intentional infliction of emotional distress” and violations of the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures.

The Phelps are seeking punitive and compensatory damages not to exceed $50,000.