A motorcyclist who had a gun pulled on him by an off-duty King County Sheriff's Office detective during a traffic stop last year is suing the county and the detective for excessive force.

Detective Richard Rowe, whose interaction with motorcyclist Alex Randall was captured by Randall's GoPro, claimed that he was holding the gun in a "low-ready" position. But in December, the King County Sheriff's Office determined otherwise: that Rowe did point the gun at Randall. Still, the same internal investigation concluded that Rowe did not use excessive force.

The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office also declined to charge Rowe with a crime.

Detective Rowe's interaction with Randall was widely publicized on Randall's YouTube channel. King County Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht chose to suspend Rowe for five days—half of what the King County Sheriff's Office internal investigations unit recommended.