Sansonetti Vs. City of St. Joseph

FACTS

On December 13, 1993, Officers Till and Ogdahl of the St. Joseph Police Department were dispatched to a residence to investigate a report of a break-in involving Sabas Hernandez-Gonzalez and another man. As the officers approached the two men, Gonzalez fled in his care and Officer Till pursued him in his patrol car with his red emergency lights and siren on. During the pursuit, Gonzalez ran a stop sign, drove at speeds in excess of 80 miles per hour, and finally crashed into the living room of Sharon Sansonetti. Mr. Gonzalez was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, careless driving, and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle among others. A resident of the home, Mary Matthews was physically injured in the crash.

ISSUE

Did the trial court err in finding no proximate cause to find Officer Till and the City of St. Joseph liable for injuries sustained by the plaintiffs due to negligence from violation of §304.022, RSMO regulating police pursuits?

HOLDING

The trial court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of Officer Till and the City of St. Joseph. The officer was not found to be negligent in pursuing Mr. Gonzalez because he was not the proximate cause of the accident. In order to establish negligence by the officer the plaintiffs must prove that a legal duty to the plaintiff existed, that duty was breached, that the breach was the proximate cause of the injury, and that there was an injury sustained. Since Officer Till was not found to the proximate cause of the accident that caused the plaintiff's injury, no negligence can be established.

REASONING