Opinion ID: 1188053
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: liability of police officers under negligence principles

Text: The liability of a police officer for pursuing a law violator who becomes involved in an accident causing damage to a third person has not before been considered by this court. A review of the decided cases exhibits a considerable reluctance to find the officers liable where they are not involved in the accident. The policy reasons stated are that the officer has a duty to apprehend, arrest and remove from the highways drunk drivers; that if, in the performance of his job as a patrolman, he must choose whether to pursue or allow a lawbreaker to escape, he should not be liable for either choice in the absence of gross or wanton conduct almost amounting to bad faith; that he should be responsible only for the careful operation of his own car; and that he should not be liable for the unpredictable actions of the driver being pursued for that would make him an insurer of the wrongful acts of a lawbreaker. All of the above seem to essentially say that, except in extreme or outrageous circumstances, an officer's pursuit of a vehicle which is involved in an accident not involving the officer's vehicle is not the proximate cause of that accident. Thus, in Roll v. Timberman, 94 N.J. Super. 530, 229 A.2d 281 (1967), a police officer was charged with negligence in pursuing the vehicle of a lawbreaker at high speeds. The court stated: [T]he majority view expressed in other jurisdictions in similar cases holds that the police officer is not liable. The reasoning which underlies the rejection of liability in these cases is two-fold: (1) it is the duty of a police officer to apprehend those whose reckless driving makes use of the highway dangerous to others; (2) the proximate cause of the accident is the reckless driving of the pursued, notwithstanding recognition of the fact that the police pursuit contributed to the pursued's reckless driving. (Citations omitted.) Id. 229 A.2d at 284. In Chambers v. Ideal Pure Milk Company, Ky. Ct. App., 245 S.W.2d 589 (1952), the police pursued a vehicle at speeds of 70 to 75 m.p.h. At an intersection, the pursued vehicle was involved in a collision with plaintiff's vehicle. The court stated: To argue that the officers' pursuit caused Scheare to speed may be factually true, but it does not follow that the officers are liable at law for the results of Scheare's negligent speed. Police cannot be made insurers of the conduct of the culprits they chase. 245 S.W.2d at 591. In Reenders v. City of Ontario, 68 Cal. App.3d 1045, 137 Cal. Rptr. 736 (1977), the court affirmed a summary judgment in favor of the city holding that plaintiff's injury was not proximately caused by the police officers' pursuit of a vehicle. It concluded that policy matters such as preventing future harm by apprehending a lawbreaker operating a vehicle in a dangerous and reckless manner outweighed other considerations. In State of West Virginia ex rel. Poulos v. Fidelity and Casualty Company of New York, 263 F. Supp. 88 (S.D.W. Va. 1967), the court granted summary judgment in favor of the police officer who pursued the vehicle driven by an escapee upon the grounds that the officer's pursuit was not the proximate cause of plaintiff's injury. The court stated: It is hardly necessary to point out the eoverriding public policy of apprehending criminals as rapidly as possible, thus eliminating continued criminal acts, as a factor outweighing the undesirable consequences of holding an officer liable for damages sustained by a third party as a result of negligence such as described in the complaint. We are not prepared to hold an officer liable for damages inflicted by the driver of a stolen vehicle whom he was lawfully attempting to apprehend for the fortuitous reason only that the criminal drove through an urban area. To do so would open the door for every desperado to seek sanctuary in the congested confines of our municipalities   . Id. at 91. City of Miami v. Horne, Fla., 198 So.2d 10 (1967), was an action for wrongful death resulting from a collision between plaintiff's vehicle and a driver being pursued by a police officer. The trial court granted summary judgment holding that the officer's negligence, if any, was not the proximate cause of the damages. The Florida Supreme Court stated: The rule governing the conduct of police in pursuit of an escaping offender is that he must operate his car with due care and, in doing so, he is not responsible for the acts of the offender. Although pursuit may contribute to the reckless driving of the pursued, the officer is not obliged to allow him to escape. Id. at 13. The court further stated: [T]he standard of care exercised by him must be judged liberally and that the city    should not be liable in damages for every mistake of judgment by its officers   . Id. at 13. In Thornton v. Shore, 233 Kan. 737, 666 P.2d 655 (1983), a police officer pursued a speeding vehicle which ran stop signs and was driven recklessly until it was involved in a collision with plaintiff. The officer's vehicle was not involved in the collision. The court stated: We conclude the `due care' requirement of K.S.A. 8-1506(d) applies only to the police officer's physical operation of his own vehicle and not to the decision to chase or continue to chase a law violator. If the officer is in compliance with the statute in the operation of his own vehicle, he is entitled to the privileges and immunities afforded by the statute and is not vicariously liable or responsible for the reckless or negligent acts of the law violator he is pursuing. 666 P.2d at 668. The statute referred to is almost identical to a similar statute in effect in the State of Wyoming; and, in effect, the Kansas court is really saying that the officer's manner of driving his patrol car was not a proximate cause of the accident. Summary judgment was affirmed in favor of the officer. In Rubinow v. County of San Bernardino, 169 Cal. App.2d 67, 336 P.2d 968 (1959), suit was brought against the county because of the failure of an officer to arrest a motorist driving his vehicle erratically who was involved in an accident with a third vehicle causing the death of that driver. The officer was following the vehicle which struck plaintiff. Plaintiff contended the officer was negligent in failing to apprehend and arrest that driver and that his negligence was the proximate cause of the accident and death of the decedent. The court stated: It appears to us that in a case of the type here at hand there is at least some degree of discretion required to be exercised by the officer, and where that is true [the duty must be] clear and unequivocal. 336 P.2d at 970. Dismissal was affirmed. We agree with these courts and hold that when a police officer pursues a fleeing violator and the violator injures a third party as a result of the chase, the officer's pursuit is not the proximate cause of those injuries unless the circumstances indicate extreme or outrageous conduct by the officer. To put it another way, the possibility that the violator will injure a third party is too remote to create liability until the conduct of the officer becomes extreme.