Actor Ron Ely lost a federal civil-rights lawsuit against the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and four of its deputies, stemming from a 2019 incident in which his wife and son both died. The lawsuit alleged that deputies and sheriff’s dispatchers failed to provide timely medical aid to Cameron Ely and to Valerie Lundeen Ely, Ron Ely’s wife, who had suffered multiple stab wounds prior to the arrival of deputies.