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Fawcett v. Adreon8/21/2001
tion indicating that the passenger had violated a law. Such a requirement unreasonably hamstrings law enforcement personnel in the performance of their overall obligation "to protect the public." Haynes, 883 S.W.2d at 611. In addition, it must be noted that Section 55-8-108(e) does not use the term "driver" of a fleeing vehicle; rather, the statute refers to "an actual or suspected violator of a law or ordinance who flees. . . ."
We hold that, in the absence of information to the contrary, a police officer can reasonably assume that the passenger in the fleeing vehicle is engaged in a common criminal activity with the driver and would therefore be a suspected violator of the law under Section 55-8- 108(e). If the passenger in a fleeing vehicle is a "suspected violator"and not a "third party," a municipality cannot be held liable for an injury to such a passenger resulting from a high speed police chase. In this case, while there is some dispute as to whether Fawcett was awake during the chase, there were no facts that would have made it unreasonable for the police officer to assume Fawcett was engaged in a common criminal activity with the driver, Adreon. Under these circumstances, we conclude that Fawcett must be deemed a "suspected violator" under the statute, and the City cannot be held liable for her death, even if the police officer's decision to commence or continue the chase was negligent. The trial court's decision granting summary judgment to the City is affirmed on this basis.
The decision of the trial court is affirmed. Costs on appeal are taxed to the Appellant, Richard Fawcett, Natural Father and Custodial Parent of Danielle Lynn Fawcett, Deceased, and his surety, for which execution may issue if necessary.
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