Did police officers violate your constitutional rights and cause you harm during a police chase? You may be able to sue both the individual officer(s) and the department or municipality if your car was hit during a police chase.
Our Monell claim lawyer can help you determine whether your case qualifies. Call Jenner Law today for a free consultation.
What Is a Monell Claim?
A Monell claim is filed against a public entity (such as a municipality or police department) for the violation of a constitutional right. Monell claims are named after the Supreme Court case (Monell v. Department of Social Services) that established the right to sue a municipality under Section 1983. They are also known as Section 1983 lawsuits. There are specific criteria you must meet to have a successful claim.
Proving a Monell Claim
There are several options for establishing a Monell claim:
- There is an “officially adopted or promulgated policy.”
- There is no official policy, but the long-term actions of the department or municipality are pervasive and create what employees might consider a policy.
- A failure to do something led to the rights violation and the harm you suffered.
- An authority in the organization made a decision that the rest of the organization may take as policy.
You must be able to establish one of the above and establish how it caused you harm.
Establishing a Monell claim is not easy. You don’t want to handle this alone. The defendant (who you are suing) will likely have a large defense team whose only job is to poke holes in your story. To file a successful Monell claim, you would need in-depth knowledge and experience with civil rights law. You would also need to understand when a municipality can and cannot be held liable, as many have immunity in certain situations (e.g., they cannot be held vicariously liable for something a police officer does unless it is a civil rights violation).
You also need to know what evidence can help you establish your claim. In addition to being very difficult to do without a law degree, you run the risk of retraumatizing yourself as you handle this process.
Policies that Could Constitute a Monell Claim
Let’s use a police chase as an example. It’s important for law enforcement to catch someone who is attempting to evade arrest; however, this is often done with no consideration of how a police chase might injure or even kill innocent bystanders.
Many police departments have a policy, whether official or not, that police officers should stop at nothing to catch the bad guy. This can lead to reckless behavior, such as operating a vehicle at speeds up to 100 miles per hour, running red lights, riding up on sidewalks, fleeing the scene of an accident, and more.
While an officer’s reckless behavior can cause a crash, a failure to inform officers on when to stop a chase can also lead to an accident or injury.
Either of these violate a citizen’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (Fourteenth Amendment).
Complications of Proving a Monell Claim
You cannot simply link your injuries or an accident to the actions of a police officer. You must prove that the action was the result of a policy that the department promoted.
For example, a police officer takes part in a high speed chase. The department’s policy on high speed chases is to terminate them when they reach a high traffic area. The officer ignores that policy, continues the chase, and they (or the fleeing driver) hit you as you cross the street in a crosswalk. You would not have a valid Monell claim because the officer made an individual decision that injured you.
However, if the department’s policy was to chase a potential perpetrator until you catch them, we could establish that the policy led to a violation of your constitutional rights and an injury.
Examples of Monell Claims for Police Pursuits
There are two court cases that demonstrate the use of a Monell claim after a police chase.
Best v. Cobb County
In Best v. Cobb County, Best and several other plaintiffs sued Cobb County and former Cobb County Police Chief Lee New for a violation of their Fourteenth Amendment rights. The plaintiffs sued after their vehicle was hit by a suspect fleeing Cobb County authorities. The accident killed one person and seriously injured two others.
The plaintiffs claimed that the Cobb County officers never received training on proper procedure for a police pursuit.
Trigalet v. City of Tulsa
In Trigalet v. City of Tulsa, three people were killed when the car they were riding in was hit by an allegedly stolen vehicle driven by someone fleeing from the police. The suspect, who ran a red light, had run no fewer than eight stop signs before this point.
Per the lawsuit,
“The officers were aware of the likelihood of encountering traffic during the pursuit. No supervisor or watch commander was notified of the pursuit, nor was the pursuit supervised, although the TPD’s written vehicle pursuit policy then in force required that all pursuits be supervised and directed officers to terminate such pursuits when the hazards outweigh the benefits.”
The plaintiffs alleged that multiple failures by the Tulsa Police Department allowed this accident to occur.
While these cases were not successful, they illustrate how one might argue a constitutional rights violation in a Monell claim. Learn more about how we might be able to file a Monell claim on your behalf today. Call Jenner Law for a free consultation.
Monell Claims Are Important for Safety and Change
Monell claims help to establish accountability for police departments and their actions. They also help to prompt institutional changes that make the municipalities each department serves a safer place. Changes could include:
- Safer policing
- Safer arrests
- More compassionate training
Get Help from Our Monell Claim Lawyer Today
Did law enforcement violate your rights during a police chase? Our team can review your case and help you determine whether you might have a valid Monell claim.
Call the Jenner Law team today to get started with a free consultation.