Court Opinion

ID: 9560166
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 17:44:33.585947+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:12:14.488701
License: Public Domain

*152ROLL, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent.
Today, a majority of this court holds that a public municipality may be liable for injuries caused by a grossly negligent third party seeking to elude apprehension by the police, even in the absence of proof that pursuing law enforcement officers were also grossly negligent.
FACTS
Shortly after midnight on January 18, 1987, Mark Bable came to the attention of three individuals who were operating a motor vehicle in the vicinity of Ft. Lowell and First Avenue in Tucson. These individuals, Phillip and Troy Rankin and Bob Sherman, noticed Bable when Bable “revved up” the engine of his vehicle and swerved toward the Rankin vehicle. Thereafter, Bable proceeded to weave in and out of traffic, requiring other vehicles to take evasive action, and having near collisions with three to four other vehicles. In the vicinity of Mountain and Ft. Lowell, the Rankins and Sherman observed Bable run a red light, hop a curb, strike a sign, re-enter the roadway, and collide with another vehicle, then flee the scene of the collision. At that point, they notified the police department of Bable’s actions. Police officers in the vicinity received a report of a probable drunk driver who had engaged in speeding, running red lights, and a hit-and-run accident. As the Rankins and Sherman followed Bable, they observed Bable continue to speed, weave “all over the road,” and force other vehicles off of the road. He raced through a residential area.
Eventually, Tucson Police Officer Gehm encountered Bable as Bable was eastbound on Glenn near Dodge. Bable accelerated. Soon, a police helicopter joined the pursuit. Bable ran another red light at the vicinity of Glenn and Swan while travelling southbound toward Grant Road, turned westbound on Grant Road where he accelerated in excess of over 65 miles per hour, then turned north on Dodge from the westbound left turn lane of Grant Road. Ultimately, Bable went west on Glenn and accelerated through a red light at the intersection of Glenn and Country Club, where he struck a vehicle driven by innocent third party Debra Aten, who died as a result of the collision.
While being treated at a hospital, Bable indicated that he did not realize that the police were chasing him and that the first thing that he remembered was seeing emergency lights and being transported to the hospital. On these facts, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the City of Tucson.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
In reviewing summary judgment, this court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, and all favorable inferences fairly arising from the evidence must be given to the opposing party. Hill-Shafer Partnership v. Chilson Family Trust, 165 Ariz. 469, 472, 799 P.2d 810, 813 (1990); Wisener v. State, 123 Ariz. 148, 149, 598 P.2d 511, 512 (1979). Summary judgment is appropriate where “the claim or defense ha[s] so little probative value, given the quantum of evidence required, that reasonable people could not agree with the conclusion advanced by the proponent of the claim or defense.” Orme School v. Reeves, 166 Ariz. 301, 309, 802 P.2d 1000, 1008 (1990). The moving party must be entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Gulf Ins. Co. v. Grisham, 126 Ariz. 123, 124, 613 P.2d 283, 284 (1980); Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Moore, 156 Ariz. 184, 185, 750 P.2d 1387, 1388 (App.1988). Questions of law are reviewed de novo. Tovrea Land & Cattle Co. v. Linsenmeyer, 100 Ariz. 107, 114, 412 P.2d 47, 51 (1966); Aldabbagh v. Arizona Dept. of Liquor Licenses & Control, 162 Ariz. 415, 418, 783 P.2d 1207, 1210 (App. 1989).
Summary judgment may be affirmed on appeal on grounds not explicitly considered below. Gibson v. Boyle, 139 Ariz. 512, 517, 679 P.2d 535, 540 (App.1983). We are obliged to affirm the trial court’s ruling if the result was legally correct for any reason. State v. Perez, 141 Ariz. 459, 464, 687 P.2d 1214, 1219 (1984).
*153TORT LIABILITY OF CITY FOR ACTIONS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
The Estate of Debra Aten argues that the City of Tucson is liable for negligence on behalf of the law enforcement officers who pursued Bable. In order for tort liability to vest, there must be a duty, a breach of that duty, a breach of duty constituting the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries, and damages. Ontiveros v. Borak, 136 Ariz. 500, 504, 667 P.2d 200, 204 (1983); Wisener, 123 Ariz. at 149, 598 P.2d at 512.
In the matter before us, plaintiff argues three theories of negligence: (1) Several minutes before the time that the accident ultimately occurred, Officer Gehm should have blocked Bable’s vehicle at Alvernon and Glenn when Bable was eastbound; (2) The police helicopter should not have illuminated Bable’s vehicle, because the illumination “may have contributed to his continued flight ...;” and (3) Ground units should have ceased or slowed down pursuit of Bable once the air support unit had Bable in view.
While law enforcement officers previously owed no duty to third persons, Wilson v. City of Tucson, 8 Ariz.App. 398, 446 P.2d 504 (1968), Arizona and the majority of states no longer follow that view. Ryan v. State, 134 Ariz. 308, 656 P.2d 597 (1982).
The police have a duty to intervene. Lippincott v. State, 162 Ariz. 171, 173, 781 P.2d 1012, 1014 (App.1989); Roll v. Timberman, 94 N.J.Super. 530, 229 A.2d 281, 283 (1967); DeWald v. State, 719 P.2d 643, 649 (Wyo.1986). Officers also have a duty to operate emergency vehicles with due regard for others.
In Dent v. City of Dallas, 729 S.W.2d 114, 116-17 (Tex.App.1986), the Texas Court of Appeals stated:
The question of a police officer’s liability to an innocent third party, who is injured or killed in an accident involving a suspect being pursued by the officer, has never been addressed in Texas. In the jurisdictions where this question has arisen, the majority of courts have found no liability on the part of the officers. The rationale for these decisions is that the sole proximate cause of the accident is the suspect’s negligent conduct and not the officer’s conduct in electing to pursue the lawbreaker. Simply stated, courts will not make police officers the insurers for the conduct of the suspects they pursue.
The majority focuses upon the citations given in support of the above-quoted proposition. I believe, however, A.R.S. § 28-624 is dispositive of this matter.
In Arizona, the duty owed is prescribed by A.R.S. § 28-624, authorizing emergency vehicles to disregard traffic regulations. Paragraph D of the statute reads:
The provisions of this section do not relieve the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons, nor do these provisions protect the driver from the consequences of his reckless disregard for the safety of others.
A number of courts have interpreted nearly identical statutory language as that contained in § 28-624(D) as restricting liability of municipalities and/or law enforcement officers to those situations in which a police officer is grossly negligent in the pursuit of a law violator.
Only one prior Arizona case, Herderick v. State, 23 Ariz.App. 111, 530 P.2d 1144 (1975), has interpreted the standard of care imposed by A.R.S. § 28-624(D).
In Herderick, in upholding summary judgment in favor of the state in a lawsuit brought by the survivors of a passenger who died in a one-vehicle accident, Division One of this court held that the officer’s failure to activate emergency equipment while pursuing the vehicle in which Herderick rode was not the proximate cause of the accident. In dicta, Division One observed that the duty imposed upon operators of emergency vehicles by A.R.S. § 28-624(D) “is nothing more than the same duty imposed on every other user of the highways, that is, the duty to use due care.” 23 Ariz.App. at 115, 530 P.2d at 1148. This interpretation of the statute by Division One is instructive but not binding on this *154court, Scappaticci v. Southwest Savings & Loan Association, 135 Ariz. 456, 461, 662 P.2d 131, 136 (1983); Higgins v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., 157 Ariz. 594, 596, 760 P.2d 594, 596 (App.1988), aff'd, 160 Ariz. 20, 770 P.2d 324 (1989).
The majority also relies upon Ruth v. Rhodes, 66 Ariz. 129, 185 P.2d 304 (1947), and the supreme court’s interpretation of former Ariz.Code Ann.1939 § 66-105. That statute, however, was specifically entitled “When speed limit not applicable.” A.R.S. § 28-624, the statute governing the matter before us, expressly authorizes emergency vehicles not only to travel in excess of posted speed limits, but to proceed past stop signs and stop signals and to “[disregard regulations governing direction of movement or turning in specified directions.” A.R.S. § 28-624(B). Accordingly, Ruth is not persuasive.
North Carolina’s Supreme Court, in a case of first impression interpreting a statute nearly identical to Arizona’s, concluded that a law enforcement officer was only liable for gross negligence:
This Court faces for the first time the determination of the proper standard of care where the injuries complained of do not result from the officer’s vehicle colliding with another person, vehicle, or object in the chase or apprehension of a law violator. Under these circumstances, we conclude that the applicable standard is whether the officer’s conduct constitutes gross negligence.
Bullins v. Schmidt, 322 N.C. 580, 583, 369 S.E.2d 601, 603 (1988). The court based its analysis on the language of the statute which establishes as the public policy of North Carolina that “upon a showing of the reckless disregard of the safety of others the officer loses the benefit of the statute,” and the officer may be liable for damages proximately resulting from such gross negligence. 322 N.C. at 583, 369 S.E.2d at 603.
Other courts in other states have reached similar interpretations. In Mitchell v. State, 108 A.D.2d 1033, 486 N.Y.S.2d 97 (1985), the court interpreted New York’s Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1104(e). That law exempts emergency vehicles from traffic laws, but not “from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons, nor shall such provisions protect the driver from the consequences of his reckless disregard for the safety of others.” N.Y. Veh. & Traf. § 1104(e).
In Mitchell, a third party collided head-on with a vehicle being pursued by an officer. It was undisputed that the officer, in contravention of departmental regulations, was not using his siren and emergency lights. The court nevertheless concluded that the state was not liable because the officer’s conduct did not constitute reckless disregard for the safety of others:
[The officer’s] failure to [use his lights and siren] at that time, even if considered negligent, cannot be said to have risen to the level of reckless disregard for the safety of others, which is the standard required to find him responsible for the accident.
108 A.D.2d at 1034-35, 486 N.Y.S.2d at 99. See also Selkowitz v. State, 55 A.D.2d 709, 389 N.Y.S.2d 45 (1976).
In Illinois, a statute virtually identical to A.R.S. § 28-624 has been interpreted as precluding liability absent a finding of wilful and wanton negligence on the part of the police officer. In Breck v. Cortez, 141 Ill.App.3d 351, 95 Ill.Dec. 615, 490 N.E.2d 88 (1986), an appellate court upheld summary judgment in favor of the police on the question of wilful and wanton negligence, stating:
We are aware that the question of whether conduct amounts to wilful and wanton negligence is normally a question of fact for determination by the jury, ... and that summary judgment should not be granted if there is a genuine issue as to any material fact____ The question of wilful and wanton misconduct may, however, be determined by the court ... if all of the evidence, when viewed in its aspect most favorable to the opponent, so overwhelmingly favors movant that no contrary determination based on that evidence could ever stand.
141 Ill.App.3d at 359-60, 95 Ill.Dec. at 620-21, 490 N.E.2d at 93-94 (citations omitted).
*155Breck is particularly instructive because of its factual similarity to the matter before us. The court noted that in order for the police officer’s acts “to be characterized as wilful or wanton, they must have been committed with actual or deliberate intention to harm or with an utter indifference to or conscious disregard for the safety of others.” 141 Ill.App.3d at 360, 95 Ill.Dec. at 621, 490 N.E.2d at 94. The court then went on to analyze the conduct of the officers during their chase of the suspected law violator, which resulted in injury to a third party:
In evaluating the conduct of the police officers here, we must be mindful of the reason for their pursuit of Cortez. The evidence in the instant case, even when viewed in its aspect most favorable to plaintiffs, establishes that Cortez was driving his car in a reckless manner and endangering the public before the police began to chase him____ Cortez did not deny that this occurred. He testified only that he could not remember whether it happened or not____ Under these circumstances, a failure on the part of the police to act would have presented a substantial threat to public safety.
141 Ill.App.3d at 360, 95 Ill.Dec. at 621, 490 N.E.2d at 94; see also Thornton v. Shore, 233 Kan. 737, 666 P.2d 655 (1983).
The majority suggests that the interpretation given by appellate courts of other states to similarly-worded statutes should not be considered because the city has not advanced such an argument on appeal. The city, however, is the appellee. We are required to affirm the trial court if it was correct for any reason, whether elaborated upon or not. Perez, supra; Gibson, supra.
Compelling reasons exist for limiting governmental and/or police officers’ liability in pursuit situations to those cases in which reasonable people could conclude that the officer has operated an emergency vehicle in a grossly negligent fashion. “The law allows police pursuit of fleeing violators as a matter of public policy; the benefit of apprehending these individuals outweighs the ordinary risks inherently involved in such pursuit.” Kelly v. City of Tulsa, 791 P.2d 826, 829 (Okl.App.1990). Not only is police pursuit permissible, it may well be a duty imposed upon law enforcement officers. Lippincott, supra.
In determining whether a law enforcement officer exceeded the standard of care enunciated in the statute, the officer’s “actions are to be considered as of the time and under the circumstances in which they occurred and not by subsequent facts or in retrospect.” Zulauf v. State, 119 Misc.2d 135, 138, 462 N.Y.S.2d 560, 562 (Ct.C1.1983), aff'd, Baratier v. State, 110 A.D.2d 1042, 489 N.Y.S.2d 1019 (1985). By the time the police officers’ pursuit in this case commenced, Bable had already engaged in reckless conduct, having forced other vehicles from his path, jumped curbs, hit a sign and sideswiped another car. The pursuit occurred at 1:30 a.m. At the time the fatal collision occurred, Officer Gehm was approximately 100 yards behind Bable and Officer Richards was approximately 200 yards behind Bable. These undisputed facts disprove plaintiff’s claim that the officers violated a regulation requiring that police officers slow down once air support units have established visual contact with fleeing suspects. Bable, nevertheless, continued to drive dangerously until he ran the red light and collided with Debra Aten’s vehicle. None of the three theories advanced by plaintiff, whether viewed individually or cumulatively, can reasonably be said to constitute gross negligence by the police. See Breck, 490 N.E.2d at 94; Bullins, 369 S.E.2d at 603 (“gross negligence is wanton conduct done with conscious or reckless disregard for the rights and safety of others”).
In Thornton, the Supreme Court of Kansas commented on the “due care” standard in a Kansas statute similar to A.R.S. § 28-624:
The privileges and immunities granted to police officers ... would indeed be hollow if the test of due care ... were extended to include the acts of the fleeing motorist whom the officer is trying to apprehend. The net effect of such an extension would be to make the officer the insurer of the fleeing violator, be he *156or she a mentally deranged person, prison escapee, murderer, drug addict or drunk.
233 Kan. at 745, 666 P.2d at 661-62.
CONCLUSION
A.R.S. § 28-624 constitutes a legislative determination that authorized emergency vehicles should not be subject to liability unless and until operators of such vehicles are grossly negligent. The legislature set out the privileges and the standard of care by which police officers are governed in such instances. The standard, when applied in this case, reveals a lack of any evidence in the record before the trial court that could demonstrate gross negligence on the part of the police, and therefore, summary judgment was appropriate.
I respectfully dissent.