El Paso Man Sues U.S. After Border Patrol Agent Kills Dog During 2025 Home Search
Senior Counsel Marisa Ong was featured in KFOX14/CBS4's article "El Paso man sues U.S. after Border Patrol agent kills dog during 2025 home search," covering the firm's federal lawsuit on behalf of Seth Daw, whose 7-year-old Rottweiler, Chop, was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent during a September 2025 search of his Upper Valley home.
The lawsuit, filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, follows an SF-95 administrative claim Daw filed with Border Patrol in October 2025, which the agency denied in its entirety in May 2026. According to the complaint, Daw had secured Chop in the entryway bathroom before the search, told agents where the dog was, and asked to be notified before that door was opened. While Daw stepped outside to retrieve his identification, an agent allegedly reentered the home alone, and within about a minute Daw heard a gunshot. Chop died 45 minutes later despite Daw's efforts to save him. The incident has drawn national attention, including the #JusticeForChop hashtag on social media and a letter from Congresswoman Veronica Escobar demanding answers from Customs and Border Protection. The complaint raises claims for assault and battery, conversion and trespass to personal property, trespass to real property, and negligence.
"Seth did everything he was supposed to do, and an agent still went into a room he had no permission to enter and killed a healthy, harmless animal who had never hurt anyone," said Ong. "Seth hasn't spent a single night in the home he was renovating and planning to buy since the day his dog was killed there."
