Taxpayers Sued for Negligent JSO High-Speed Chase that Killed Mother of 2

[ChriswUfGator]

http://www.jacksonvilleinjuryattorneyblog.com/2010/12/family_of_woman_killed_in_high.html

Posted On: December 7, 2010

Family of Woman Killed in High Speed Chase Serves Notice of Intent to Sue the City of Jacksonville

A young mother of two was killed on Jacksonville's Southside when she was involved in a car accident caused by a man driving a stolen a car who was fleeing from police. The family of the young woman has served the City of Jacksonville with a notice that they intend to sue for negligence in intitiating and continuing the chase despite the unsafe manner in which the suspect was driving. The suspect was sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder, carjacking and aggravated fleeing.

In order to bring a negligence claim against any division of the State of Florida, a person must serve the government with a notice of the intent to file suit. Suit cannot be initiated prior to 180 days after serving such a notice.

The Florida Supreme Court held in 1992 that a state entity can be sued for personal injury or wrongful death caused by high speed pursuits. In that case, two women were killed when their vehicle was struck by the vehicle of a suspect travelling approximately 90 miles per hour while being chased by a caravan of police. The chase lasted more than 25 miles and included passage through more than 30 intersections. The suspect's original offense? Running a red light.

Wonderful, so now we know that when JSO determines it's more important to play Billy Badass and show that perp what happens when he disobeys Captain Awesome than to protect public safety by not continuing a high speed chase that places the rest of us in danger, we taxpayers get to foot the bill for this crap. Thanks JSO!

[Shwaz]

The suspect's original offense? Running a red light

I like the way this was emphasized... like the cops should have assumed there was no other reason for initiating a highspeed chase other than the fact that he really just didn't want that ticket... could've been something like;

murder, carjacking and aggravated fleeing.

[ChriswUfGator]

The suspect's original offense? Running a red light

I like the way this was emphasized... like the cops should have assumed there was no other reason for initiating a highspeed chase other than the fact that he really just didn't want that ticket... could've been something like;

murder, carjacking and aggravated fleeing.

That's not the point.

The point is that the high-speed chase endangered the rest of the public. Let's see how you feel if your family member got killed in one of these. The risk to public safety isn't worth it.

[Shwaz]

The suspect's original offense? Running a red light

I like the way this was emphasized... like the cops should have assumed there was no other reason for initiating a highspeed chase other than the fact that he really just didn't want that ticket... could've been something like;

murder, carjacking and aggravated fleeing.

Could just as easily have been a wife giving birth at the hospital.

Nice logic. What if I gotta take a dump real bad... can I ignore all traffic laws and refuse to stop too?

[Shwaz]

The suspect's original offense? Running a red light

I like the way this was emphasized... like the cops should have assumed there was no other reason for initiating a highspeed chase other than the fact that he really just didn't want that ticket... could've been something like;

murder, carjacking and aggravated fleeing.

That's not the point.

The point is that the high-speed chase endangered the rest of the public. Let's see how you feel if your family member got killed in one of these. The risk to public safety isn't worth it.

Let's see how you'd feel if one of your family was murdered by a murdering car jacking murderer that was allowed to get away and murder the next fine automobile owner that crossed his path.

[ChriswUfGator]

The suspect's original offense? Running a red light

I like the way this was emphasized... like the cops should have assumed there was no other reason for initiating a highspeed chase other than the fact that he really just didn't want that ticket... could've been something like;

murder, carjacking and aggravated fleeing.

That's not the point.

The point is that the high-speed chase endangered the rest of the public. Let's see how you feel if your family member got killed in one of these. The risk to public safety isn't worth it.

Let's see how you'd feel if one of your family was murdered by a murdering car jacking murderer that was allowed to get away and murder the next fine automobile owner that crossed his path.

The risk of that is far less than being killed in a high speed chase or shootout in a residential neighborhood brought about by JSO. As we've seen repeatedly lately, when JSO opened fire and hit two children in a Wendy's parking lot, and in the story posted above in this thread.

The criminals are criminals, they didn't take an oath to protect the public. JSO did. When their actions actually cause more danger to the public than they're preventing, they are violating their oath and acting irresponsibly, and should stop before they kill innocent people.

[Shwaz]

The suspect's original offense? Running a red light

I like the way this was emphasized... like the cops should have assumed there was no other reason for initiating a highspeed chase other than the fact that he really just didn't want that ticket... could've been something like;

murder, carjacking and aggravated fleeing.

That's not the point.

The point is that the high-speed chase endangered the rest of the public. Let's see how you feel if your family member got killed in one of these. The risk to public safety isn't worth it.

Let's see how you'd feel if one of your family was murdered by a murdering car jacking murderer that was allowed to get away and murder the next fine automobile owner that crossed his path.

The risk of that is far less than being killed in a high speed chase or shootout in a residential neighborhood brought about by JSO. As we've seen repeatedly lately, when JSO opened fire and hit two children in a Wendy's parking lot, and in the story posted above in this thread.

The criminals are criminals, they didn't take an oath to protect the public. JSO did. When their actions actually cause more danger to the public than they're preventing, they are violating their oath and acting irresponsibly, and should stop before they kill innocent people.

Awesome! So it's ok because the chance of it happening to one of your family members is slim... nevermind the chance of this happening again and to someone that you aren't related to is high.

[ChriswUfGator]

The suspect's original offense? Running a red light

I like the way this was emphasized... like the cops should have assumed there was no other reason for initiating a highspeed chase other than the fact that he really just didn't want that ticket... could've been something like;

murder, carjacking and aggravated fleeing.

That's not the point.

The point is that the high-speed chase endangered the rest of the public. Let's see how you feel if your family member got killed in one of these. The risk to public safety isn't worth it.

Let's see how you'd feel if one of your family was murdered by a murdering car jacking murderer that was allowed to get away and murder the next fine automobile owner that crossed his path.

The risk of that is far less than being killed in a high speed chase or shootout in a residential neighborhood brought about by JSO. As we've seen repeatedly lately, when JSO opened fire and hit two children in a Wendy's parking lot, and in the story posted above in this thread.

The criminals are criminals, they didn't take an oath to protect the public. JSO did. When their actions actually cause more danger to the public than they're preventing, they are violating their oath and acting irresponsibly, and should stop before they kill innocent people.

Awesome! So it's ok because the chance of it happening to one of your family members is slim... nevermind the chance of this happening again and to someone that you aren't related to is high.

False comparison.

What matters is the overall level of danger to the public. Conducting high speed chases and gunfights in residential neighborhoods is far more dangerous to the public than the risk of being involved in whatever random carjacking might happen periodically.

When JSO's action cause more danger than they prevent, they have crossed the line.