Manwaring v. Geisler

230 S.W. 918, 191 Ky. 532, 18 A.L.R. 192, 1921 Ky. LEXIS 336
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedMay 17, 1921
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 230 S.W. 918 (Manwaring v. Geisler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Manwaring v. Geisler, 230 S.W. 918, 191 Ky. 532, 18 A.L.R. 192, 1921 Ky. LEXIS 336 (Ky. Ct. App. 1921).

Opinion

Opinion op the Court by

Judge Sampson

Reversing.

Appellant Manwaring, a motorcycle policeman of the city of Newport, was required by the city to perform certain duties in the fire department in addition to his duties as police officer. [Before entering upon the discharge of his duties the officer was required to and did execute to the Commonwealth and the city of Newport the following bond:

[533]*533“Know all Men by These Presents: That we, William E. Manwaring, as principal, and Massachusetts Bonding and Insurance Company, a corporation organized under the laws of Massachusetts, as surety, are held and firmly bound to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the city of Newport, in the sum of one thousand ($1,000.-00) dollars well and truly to be paid.
“The condition of the foregoing bond is as follows:
“Whereas, William E. Manwaring has been engaged as a motorcycle policeman of the city of Newport, Kentucky, during the pleasure of the board of commissioners of said city.
“Now, if the said William E. Manwaring shall well and truly perform the duties of said position and commit no trespasses against any person under the guise of said position for which he or the city may be held liable, then this bond shall be null and void, otherwise to remain in full force and effect.
“,In witness whereof, we have this first day of .May, 1919, set our hands,
“William E. Manwaring.
Massachusetts Bonding & Ins. Co.
By Howard M. Benton,
Attorney-in-fact. ’ ’

After the execution of the bond and while it was in full force and effect and at a time when the officer was in the discharge of his duties as a member of the fire department of the city, riding his motorcycle, he ran into and against the bicycle of the plaintiff and appellee Geisler, causing him to be thrown to the ground and badly injured. This suit was brought by the injured boy against the officer and his surety, the Massachusetts Bonding apd Insurance Co., to recover damages, for the alleged negligence of the officer. A verdict for $500.00 being returned and judgment 'entered thereon in favor of the plaintiff, the defendants Manwaring and his surety appeal, urging several grounds for the reversal of the judgment, which may be set out as follows: (1) There is no liability on the bond of the policeman for a trespass done by him while performing duties as a member of the fire department. (2) Public necessity exonerates a motorcycle policeman from liability for all but gross negligence. (3) The plaintiff, Geisler, was guilty of contributory negligence but for which the injury would not have happened. (4) The trial court grievously erred in [534]*534instructing the jury on the law of “last clear chance” where only specific charges of negligence which do not cover the act of which complaint is made are contained in the petition. (5) The policeman’s bond covered only his official acts and is available to a citizen only when the officer has been gnilty of misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance. (6) The surety on the official bond of a police officer is not liable for ordinary acts of negligence of the officer, for these are done in his individual capacity.

Appellant Manwaring- was acting both as a police officer and fireman at the time of the accident to appellee G-eisler, and it is impossible to separate his duties one from the other. In such case the surety on the bond of the policeman may be held liable. The injured party will not be required to draw fine distinctions and determine whether the officer was doing more duty as a policeman than as a fireman or vice versa, if he was performing any duty as a police officer. Nor is a peace officer exonerated from liability for an injury inflicted while in the discharge' of official duties on another on the ground of public necessity if the officer failed to exercise reasonable care for the protection of those whom he knew or by the exercise of reasonable judgment should have expected to be at the place of the injury, although he may not be criminally liable. For instance, an officer whose duty it is to make an arrest of one charged with felony may use such force and means as will prevent the escape of the prisoner, even to shooting and wounding him, but if in shooting at a fleeing prisoner a police officer should wound another on a public street where people are generally congregated and expected to be, the officer would not be exonerated from civil liability because he had a right to shoot to stop the prisoner, for it was his duty to so perform the functions of his office as not to injure another, and in shooting into a crowd or along a public thoroughfare where people were wont to travel in large numbers, he would be guilty of such failure to exercise reasonable care as would render him civilly liable for the wrong, even though he was justified in firing at the prisoner.

Coming now to the consideration of the alleged insufficiency of the pleading- of plaintiff to have warranted the trial court in giving an instruction on the law of the last clear chance, it may be said that the recognized rule in this jurisdiction is that a general allegation of negligence is sufficient to justify the introduction of evidence of any [535]*535negligence which was the direct and proximate cause of the injury to the plaintiff, hut if the plaintiff in his petition sets out in specific detail the particular acts of negligence upon which he will rely for recovery he will be concluded thereby and cannot introduce evidence of other or different acts of negligence. Even if there be a general allegation of negligence and this is followed by an explanatory charge of specific acts of negligence the plaintiff will likewise be confined in evidence to the proof of the specific acts of which he complains and will not be allowed to enlarge thereon under his general averment of negligence. Gains & Co. v. Johnson, 32 R. 58; 105 S. W. 382.

The petition in this case avers that the plaintiff was injured by the defendant at a time when the defendant police officer was riding’ his motorcycle along Monmouth street in the city of Newport ££at a dangerous and unreasonable rate of speed without giving any warning, notice or signal of any kind of the approach of said motorcycle to the said infant plaintiff, and without having said motorcycle under reasonable control and keeping a lookout ahead of said motorcycle for persons using said street, suddenly and unexpectedly, and with gross and wanton carelessness and negligence drove said motorcycle upon and against infant plaintiff, and his bicycle, throwing infant plaintiff down to and upon said street with great violence, seriously injuring plaintiff and destroying his bicycle.

££Plaintiff says that by reason of said negligence and said dangerous and unreasonable rate of speed and said failure of defendant, William R. Manwaring, to give warning, notice or signal of the approach of said motorcycle as aforesaid, and his failure at said time to have said motorcycle under reasonable control and keep a lookout ahead of his said motorcycle for persons upon said street, infant plaintiff was thereby injured.”

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Carr v. Wright
423 S.W.2d 521 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1968)
Johnson v. Baker
120 N.W.2d 502 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1963)
Eubanks v. Wood
304 S.W.2d 567 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1957)
Louisville & N. R. Co. v. Taylor
253 S.W.2d 27 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1952)
Boston v. Causey
1952 OK 134 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1952)
Chambers v. Ideal Pure Milk Co.
245 S.W.2d 589 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1952)
Fourseam Coal Corp. v. Barnett
240 S.W.2d 544 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1951)
Balinovic v. Evening Star Newspaper Co.
113 F.2d 505 (D.C. Circuit, 1940)
Beckwith v. Louisville Ry. Co.
124 S.W.2d 737 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1939)
Southern Ry. Co. v. Stanaford's Adm'x
120 S.W.2d 768 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1938)
Montanick Ex Rel. Montanick v. McMillin
280 N.W. 608 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1938)
Shirkey v. Keokuk County
275 N.W. 706 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1937)
Ottmann v. Village of Rockville Centre
9 N.E.2d 862 (New York Court of Appeals, 1937)
Falasco v. Hulen
44 P.2d 469 (California Court of Appeal, 1935)
Braden's Administratrix v. Liston
79 S.W.2d 241 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1934)
Smith v. Ferguson
76 S.W.2d 606 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1934)
Davidson v. Perkins-Bowling Coal Co.
74 S.W.2d 1 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1934)
Silva v. MacAuley
26 P.2d 887 (California Court of Appeal, 1933)
American Savings Life Insurance v. Riplinger
60 S.W.2d 115 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1933)
Louisville & Nashville Railroad v. Morgan's Administrator
9 S.W.2d 212 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1928)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
230 S.W. 918, 191 Ky. 532, 18 A.L.R. 192, 1921 Ky. LEXIS 336, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/manwaring-v-geisler-kyctapp-1921.