Police officers were liable for injuries caused by suspect during high-speed chase

Law Reporter, Jun 2000

City of Caddo Valley v. George, 9 S.W 3d 481 (Ark. 2000).

The Supreme Court of Arkansas held that city police officers could be held liable for injuries that were sustained by a driver when a suspect hit her vehicle during a high-speed chase.

Here, a suspect being pursued by city police officers struck George's vehicle at a road block, injuring her. She filed suit against the officers involved in the pursuit, alleging they were negligent in continuing the chase when they knew or should have known that the pursuit was likely to injure innocent people.

The city subsequently substituted itself in place of the officers being sued. A jury found in favor of plaintiff. Defendant appealed, arguing that it was immune from Liability in tort and that there was no evidence proving the officers were negligent.

Affirming, the state high court noted that-under Ark. Code Ann. 21-9-301-a municipality may be held liable for the negligent acts of its employees to the extent it is covered by liability insurance. The court rejected defendant's contention that it was immune from liability because the officers' exercise of discretion in their performance of official duties-not their negligence--caused plaintiffs injuries. Once the officers exercised their discretion and decided to pursue the suspect, the court reasoned, any actions they took subsequent to that decision were required by law to be taken with ordinary care. The officers' failure to exercise ordinary care in their pursuit of the suspect, the court said, led to the accident. Thus, defendant is not immune from suit and may be held liable for plaintiff's injuries.

Moreover, the court rejected defendant's argument that the officers were not negligent. Negligence, the court explained, is the failure to do something that a reasonably careful person would do. A negligent act results from a situation where an ordinarily prudent person in the same situation would foresee an appreciable risk of harm to others so that the person would not act or would act more carefully. In this case, the court observed, the officers knew a road block was being set up and were repeatedly told to back off in their pursuit of the suspect. This evidence is sufficient, the court found, for a jury to conclude that the officers were negligent.

Plaintiff's Counsel

Dennis J. Davis, Bryant, Ark.