Facts
On March 5, 1997, between one and two o’clock in the morning, Officer Charles White with the Cleveland Police Department observed a black truck moving erratically near the intersection of Chrisman Avenue and White Street in Cleveland, Mississippi. After the driver of the truck refused to stop, Officer White requested back-up. A chase ensued and eventually headed south on Chrisman Avenue, west on Carver Street and then north on Church Street. The driver of the truck drove the truck into a driveway at 1322 Church Street, exited the truck while the truck was still running and ran alongside the truck, pushing the truck by the driver’s side door.
As Officer White approached the vehicle, he could see the driver’s feet underneath the truck. Officer White commanded the driver of the truck to stop, but once Officer White reached the truck, the driver had already fled the scene. While Officer White waited for backup to arrive, he searched the area around the truck for the driver. Approximately one minute and a half after the driver of the truck had fled, Officer White heard a noise which sounded like tires squealing on Chrisman Avenue, the next street east of his location. Officer White then heard Officer Danny Oswalt call for an ambulance.
The noise heard by Officer White was the result of a collision between the vehicle driven by Officer Oswalt and a pedestrian, Tommie Lee Johnson, Jr. Officer Oswalt was at the intersection of Highway 8 and Chrisman Avenue when he received Officer White’s request for backup. In his deposition Officer Oswalt stated that in response to the call, he traveled south on Chrisman Avenue, immediately activating his blue lights. However, he did not use his siren, but he engaged his airhorn every ten to fifteen feet. Officer Oswalt maintained a speed of 45 to 50 miles per hour, and he slowed down as he approached intersections. The posted speed limit was 30 miles per hour. As he approached the intersection of Carver Street and Chrisman Avenue, Officer Oswalt could not see Officer White’s blue lights; therefore, he assumed Officer White had turned on Carver Street.
As Officer Oswalt was approaching the intersection of Chrisman Avenue and Carver Street, he saw someone run out in front of him from the direction of Church Street. He applied his brakes and attempted to swerve, but he hit the pedestrian. After striking Johnson, Officer Oswalt immediately called for an ambulance.
On March 5, 1997, at approximately 1:30 a.m., Kevin Quantrell Young was standing in front of Nell’s Barber Shop at 1415 South Chrisman Avenue in Cleveland. In his deposition, Young stated that he saw Johnson walk by the barber shop at 1:40 a.m. headed north on the east side of Chrisman Avenue. After Johnson walked by, Young noticed a Cleveland Police Department patrol car with its blue lights on traveling south on Chrisman Avenue. He noticed that the patrol car was trying to stop a black truck. Young noticed another Cleveland Police Department patrol car traveling south on Chrisman Avenue. However, Young stated the second patrol car did not have its blue lights activated and the car was traveling at least 60 miles per hour. As the patrol car was preparing to turn right onto Carver Street, the car “veered wide to the left” and Young heard a loud noise. When Young arrived at the scene, he noticed that Johnson had been hit by the second patrol car. Young also stated that Johnson was not the driver of the black truck being pursued by the first Cleveland Police Department patrol car because only a few minutes had elapsed between the time he saw Johnson walk in front of the barber shop to the time he saw Johnson lying on Chrisman Avenue. Young provided a statement to Officer Charles Bingham on March 6, 1997.
Officer Bingham, a criminal investigator with the Cleveland Police Department, received a call between 1:45 and 2:00 a.m. to investigate the accident. Officer Bingham observed that the driveway where the truck came to rest was muddy, and he also observed footprints in the mud which led away from the truck. Officer Bingham noted Johnson’s shoes were also muddy. However, an examination of the evidence collected by Officer Bingham did not produce sufficient evidence to link Johnson to the stolen black truck. Upon Officer Bingham’s arrival at the accident scene, Johnson was transported to the Bolivar County Medical Center. Officer Bingham interviewed Officer White and Officer Oswalt and took statements from Cedric James, Cliff Williams, Shawn Mayhall, Kevin Young and Robert Mitchell. After the accident, blood was drawn from Johnson and sent to the Mississippi Crime Lab where it was determined that Johnson’s blood tested positive for .10% ethyl alcohol.
Shawn Mayhall was standing in front of his aunt’s house when he observed Officer White’s pursuit of the black truck. Mayhall remembered seeing the truck earlier in the night because the driver jumped out of the truck and asked him a question. Mayhall first stated that when he saw the second patrol car pass by, the car was speeding, the blue lights were on, but the siren was not. However, only a few questions later, Mayhall stated he did not remember the second car having its blue lights flashing. He remembered the first car, Officer White’s car, with its blue lights activated; however, Mayhall stated the second patrol car which was driven by Officer Oswalt did not have its blue lights activated.
As a result of his injuries suffered from the accident, Tommie Lee Johnson, Jr., died on April 14, 1997. Dr. Hayne noted that the immediate cause of death was aspiration of gastric contents resulting from the accident involving the City’s patrol car.
On May 26, 1998, Freddie Lee Johnson filed this wrongful death action in the Circuit Court of Bolivar County, Mississippi. After reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, the circuit court granted summary judgment in favor of the City finding Officer Oswalt, who was responding to a call, did not act with reckless disregard as defined by Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-7(1) (Mississippi Tort Claims Act – MTCA). MSC reversed summary judgement and remanded for a bench trial.
Analysis
Officer Danny Oswalt, the officer responding to Officer White’s request for backup, testified under oath in his deposition that he activated his blue lights as he turned off of Highway 8 and onto Chrisman Avenue. He stated he kept his blue lights on the entire time. When asked about his speed, Officer Oswalt stated he was driving approximately 45-50 miles per hour, but he would slow down at all intersections. Every 10 to 15 feet, Officer Oswalt used an air horn to alert traffic instead of activating his siren. As he was slowing down to turn onto Carver Street, Officer Oswalt saw someone running from his right. He slammed on the brakes and tried to swerve, but Officer Oswalt collided with the person. Although he stated the person came from his right, the left side of his patrol car received the most damage.
Officer Charles White, the officer in pursuit of the black truck, stated in his deposition that he did not notice Officer Oswalt’s blue lights as Officer Oswalt passed by the scene. Shawn Mayhall, a bystander who was standing on Chrisman Avenue at the time of the accident, was also deposed. He first stated that Officer Oswalt was speeding, but his blue lights were flashing. When Mayhall was asked again only moments later about the second police car that passed by him, he stated that he remembered one car having blue lights flashing, but he felt sure it was the first car, Officer White’s patrol car. Mayhall again stated that he remembered the second police car speeding down Chrisman Avenue, but he did not remember the blue lights being activated. Kevin Young gave a sworn statement in which he stated that Officer Oswalt’s patrol car, the second police car he saw on the night of the accident, was traveling at least 60 miles per hour without the blue lights flashing.
Here, critical factual disputes preclude summary judgment in this case. Officer Danny Oswalt made conclusory statements during his deposition to the effect that his blue lights were activated. However, conflicting testimony clearly disputes Officer Oswalt’s testimony. This conflicting testimony created a material factual dispute that must be resolved by the trier of fact, but only after a full evidentiary hearing by way of a bench trial.
McRAE, PRESIDING JUSTICE, CONCURRING IN RESULT ONLY:
While I concur with the result reached by the majority which finds summary judgment inappropriate under the circumstances, I disagree with its rationale. Summary judgment was inappropriate because the limited facts presented would permit a finding that the officer acted in reckless disregard for the safety and well-being of others by traveling at an excessive speed with no siren in a residential neighborhood. For this reason, I concur in result only.
It is well-established law that immunity under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act will not be afforded if the employee acted in reckless disregard of the safety, and well-being of any person not engaged in criminal activity at the time of injury. Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-9(1)(c). Reckless disregard has been defined to embrace willful and wanton conduct which requires knowingly and intentionally doing a thing or wrongful act. (Intent no longer required – see Turner).
Factors which support a finding of reckless disregard in connection with police pursuits include: (1) the length of the chase; (2) type of neighborhood; (3) characteristics of the streets; (4) the presence of vehicular or pedestrian traffic; (5) weather conditions and visibility; (6) the seriousness of the offense for which the police are pursuing the suspect; (7) whether the officer proceeded with sirens and blue lights; (8) whether the officer had available alternatives which would lead to the apprehension of the suspect besides pursuit; (9) the existence of police policy which prohibits pursuit under the circumstances; and (10) the rate of speed of the officer in comparison to the posted speed limit.
Applying these factors to the facts presented, a reasonable fact finder could conclude that the “reckless disregard” exception to Miss. Code Ann.§11-46-9(1)(c) applies. At least six of the ten factors enumerated above are present. The police pursuit was in a residential neighborhood on the South Eastside of Cleveland near a four-lane highway. The streets in the neighborhood are narrow and numerous. Even at two o’clock in the morning, traffic near the area was still present since the four-lane highway which enters Cleveland is only a few feet away. Additionally, pedestrians were present as evidenced by the fact that Johnson, the victim of the pursuit, was a pedestrian crossing an intersection. The pursuit was initiated only by an officer’s report of erratic driving. There were no claims that the suspect had committed any”criminal” acts other than a simple traffic violation. Additionally, the officer who precipitated the accident causing Johnson’s death was not even the officer who initiated the pursuit but a backup officer. As an alternative to pursuit, the officers could have identified the license plate of the vehicle since at the time of the accident the suspect had fled the vehicle on foot. The officer involved in the accident did not have on his siren, and it is disputed as to whether he activated his blue lights. Finally, the officer was driving 45 to 50 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone, exceeding the speed limit at least by 15 miles per hour in the pursuit of a suspect who was fleeing on foot.
These facts taken as a whole certainly would permit a finding that the officer acted in reckless disregard of the safety, and well-being of any person not engaged in criminal activity at the time of injury. Miss.CodeAnn.§11-46-9(1)(c). I would find that based on the facts presented, summary judgment was inappropriate since the plaintiffs offered sufficient evidence to permit a finding that the “reckless disregard” exception to immunity under Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-9(1)(c) applies.