Court Opinion

ID: 9710392
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 04:08:45.382534+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:56.476551
License: Public Domain

Sawyer, J.
(dissenting). I respectfully dissent.
Whereas I would agree with my colleagues in their interpretation of Ross v Consumers Power Co (On Rehearing), 420 Mich 567; 363 NW2d 641 (1984), I disagree with their reasoning when they conclude that the police officers were performing ministerial acts as opposed to discretionary acts and, therefore, were not entitled to governmental immunity. It is clear from the record that defendant police officers were faced with the decision whether to place the decedent in protective custody or to allow the decedent’s friends to accompany him home. If they had decided to invoke MCL 333.6501; MSA 14.15(6501), they would have had to follow the statute and, therefore, be bound by the mandatory language found therein. It seems clear, however, that the determination of what type of action to take is discretionary-decisional and is precisely the type of action that governmental immunity was designed to protect. The Supreme Court has opined:
Police officers, especially when faced with a potentially dangerous situation, must be given a wide degree of discretion in determining what type of action will best ensure the safety of the individuals involved and the general public, the cessation of unlawful conduct, and the apprehension of wrongdoers. The determination of what type of action to take, e.g., make an immediate arrest, pursue a suspect, issue a warning, await backup assistance, etc., is a discretionary-decisional act entitled to immunity. Once that decision has been *749made, however, the execution thereof must be performed in a proper manner, e.g., the arrest must be made without excessive force, the pursuit of the suspect must not be done negligently, the request for assistance must include reasonably accurate information, etc. Since plaintiffs merely alleged negligent performance of a discretionarydecisional act, summary judgment for the individual officers was properly granted. [Ross, supra, pp 659-660.]
For the above-mentioned reasons, I would affirm.