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Kawaguchi v. Gainer9/16/2005
nt from the present case. Thus, Currie does not undermine the conclusion that sovereign immunity applies here.
Other cases also support this conclusion. For example, in Postich v. Henrichs, 267 Ill. App. 3d 236 (1994), the plaintiff collided with the defendant police officer's squad car while the defendant was responding to a report that a man with a gun was in the area. The plaintiff filed suit in circuit court, and the defendant argued that sovereign immunity deprived the circuit court of jurisdiction. See Postich, 267 Ill. App. 3d at 236-37. The circuit court rejected that argument and entered judgment against the defendant. This court vacated the judgment. Applying Currie, this court reasoned that the situation at hand involved an emergency and that responding to the call was part of the defendant's official duties. Moreover, although this court noted that the defendant had his flashing lights and siren on, it focused on the fact that a police officer responding to an emergency may drive in a manner not permitted to ordinary citizens. This court concluded that sovereign immunity applied. See Postich, 267 Ill. App. 3d at 244.
Likewise, in the present case, Trooper Gainer was responding to an emergency call, which was part of her official duties. Further, in doing so, she was driving in a manner unique to her position. Thus, here, like in Postich, sovereign immunity applies.
Our analysis of the case law in this area ends with a case the supreme court in Currie called "instructive" on the sovereign immunity issue. Currie, 148 Ill. 2d at 164. In Campbell v. White, 207 Ill. App. 3d 541 (1991), the appellate court concluded that sovereign immunity applied when, while pursuing speeders, the defendant state trooper ran over the plaintiff's decedent. The defendant had not activated his flashing lights and siren during the pursuit. Campbell, 207 Ill. App. 3d at 551. This was permitted under police policy, and the court concluded that, to the extent the plaintiff complained of the defendant's failure to activate his flashing lights and siren, the plaintiff was challenging that policy. As the court noted, that is precisely the kind of suit sovereign immunity does not allow the circuit court to hear. See Campbell, 207 Ill. App. 3d at 550.
So too in the present case. Here, plaintiff alleges Trooper Gainer was negligent in, among other ways, failing to operate her flashing lights and siren. However, as discussed above, pursuant to statute, police officers responding to an emergency need not operate their flashing lights and siren. See 625 ILCS 5/11--205(d). Thus, to the extent plaintiff complains about Trooper Gainer's alleged failure to operate her flashing lights and siren, plaintiff is attacking State policy as contained in that statute. See Campbell, 207 Ill. App. 3d at 551. Thus, as in Campbell, sovereign immunity applies here.
Plaintiff attempts to avoid this conclusion by contending that Trooper Gainer "wasn't involved in a high-speed chase or a situation which required her acting in a less than safe manner." In support of this argument, plaintiff notes that, having received a call indicating only an accident with injuries, Trooper Gainer did not know the extent of the injuries involved.
There are at least two serious problems with this argument. First, it directly implicates State Police policy and therefore suffers from the same flaw as plaintiff's argument about the flashing lights and siren. According to the State Police policy manual, an "Emergency call" is an "incident or call in which the possibility of death, personal injury, the apprehension of suspected offenders, or the loss or destruction of property exists and a rapid response * may
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