Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Michael Jeffries, Pia Zadora’s husband, files suit against Metro over standoff, termination

Steve Marcus

Actress and singer Pia Zadora and her husband, Michael Jeffries, on the red carpet after attending a performance of “Pawn Shop Live!” on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014, at the Golden Nugget.

Updated Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014 | 2:01 p.m.

Pia Zadora in ‘Million Dollar Quartet’

Singer/actress Pia Zadora performs during a guest performance in Launch slideshow »

Michael Jeffries, the husband of Pia Zadora and a former member of the Las Vegas Metro Police force, has filed suit against Metro for allegedly violating his civil rights by firing him over a standoff at the couple’s home in Summerlin that led to Zadora’s arrest.

On Thursday, Jeffries filed a civil suit against Metro and outgoing Sheriff Doug Gillespie in Clark County District Court. Jeffries claims Metro arrived at the couple’s home on June 1, 2013, after their then 16-year-old son, Jordan Kaufer (whom Jeffries describes as his adult, special-needs stepson in the document), called 911 to report that Zadora had committed domestic violence against him during an argument after Kaufer refused to go to bed at 11 p.m.

Reached today by phone, Jeffries said he could not comment on the lawsuit.

On the night of Zadora's arrest, a total of 150 Metro officers, including a SWAT team, arrived in the family's neighborhood in the Ridges community in Summerlin, surrounding the home and demanding to enter. In a story originally published by the Courthouse News Service, Jeffries says in his complaint that he was “off duty and legally intoxicated” inside his home as Zadora and he argued and officers attempted to enter.

“After arriving at the residence, responding officers initially entered the residence without a warrant through an open door,” Jeffries stated in the suit. The officers then heard the couple tell them to leave the property, which they did, only to call in a SWAT team and arrest Zadora after a standoff lasting several hours.

Zadora was charged with domestic assault and ordered to undergo counseling for impulse control. In the months since, Zadora has often joked about the incident, introducing herself onstage by her name and her Clark County Detention Center inmate number.

Jeffries claims he was not charged and there were no findings of criminal wrongdoing on his part and that those listed as defendants “abused their authority” and deprived him of his civil rights and, after an extended probation period, fired him on Oct. 29, 2013. Jeffries was a deputy sheriff from July 14, 2011, until Oct. 29, 2013. He has built a career in law enforcement dating to 1992, including a stint as deputy coroner in the Clark County Coroner's Office until joining the Metro force in 1996. He seeks reinstatement and compensatory, consequential and punitive damages for violations of the 4th and 5th Amendments.

On Sept. 11, Zadora was seriously injured when she was thrown from a golf cart driven by her son near the family’s Summerlin home. She suffered a fractured and dislocated right ankle and fracture behind her right jaw. On Sept. 19, she underwent surgery at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and has yet to return to her regular schedule of dinner performances at Piero’s Italian Restaurant.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy