Williams v. City of Midfield

161 So. 3d 1158, 2014 WL 2619862, 2014 Ala. LEXIS 86
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedJune 13, 2014
Docket1121211
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 161 So. 3d 1158 (Williams v. City of Midfield) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. City of Midfield, 161 So. 3d 1158, 2014 WL 2619862, 2014 Ala. LEXIS 86 (Ala. 2014).

Opinions

PER CURIAM.

The City of Midfield (“Midfield”), Officer Jason Davis, and Sgt. Otis Brown (collectively referred to as “the Midfield defendants”) petitioned this Court for a writ of mandamus, directing the Jefferson Circuit Court to enter a summary judgment in their favor, based on State-agent immunity, on claims filed against them by Patrick Williams (“Patrick”) and Elizabeth W. McElroy, as successor administratrix of the estate of Willie Lee Williams (“the estate”). We grant the petition and issue the writ.

Facts and Procedural History

On March 4, 2009, Officer Davis, an officer with the Midfield' Police Department (“the department”), stopped Marvin Brown (“Marvin”) as he was driving an all-terrain vehicle (“ATV”) in Midfield. During the traffic stop, Officer Davis asked Marvin for identification, including, among other things, his Social Security number. Officer Davis gave Marvin’s Social Security number to the department’s dispatcher, who discovered that Marvin had an outstanding felony warrant issued against him in Tennessee. The dispatcher did not state over the radio that there was a warrant for Marvin, but she did ask whether Officer Davis was “secure.” Sgt. Brown testified that the question “are you secure” is “code language meaning that there are warrants outstanding for the suspect’s arrest.” Sgt. Brown, who was the shift supervisor for the department that day, overheard on his radio Officer Davis’s exchange with the dispatcher. Upon hearing the question “are you secure?,” Sgt. Brown began driving to Officer Davis’s location to provide him with backup.

In the meantime, while Officer Davis was talking to the dispatcher, Marvin restarted the ATV and started to drive away. Marvin testified that Officer Davis had told him that he was going to take Marvin to Midfield jail and had threatened to use his Taser gun on him. Officer Davis pursued Marvin. During the pursuit, the ATV collided with Officer Davis’s patrol car. Marvin then abandoned the ATV and fled on foot. Officer Davis continued to pursue, and, eventually, Marvin got into a Honda Accord automobile that was parked in a driveway on Nail Street and drove away.

Sgt. Brown, who had been listening to Officer Davis on the police radio, arrived at Nail Street in time to see Officer Davis standing on the side of the road, pointing to a dark-colored vehicle that was driving away and talking into the police radio, saying that the suspect was in that vehicle. Sgt. Brown testified by affidavit as follows:

“At this point in time I knew that the suspect had one or more warrants out for his arrest, [had] fled from Officer Davis, [had] hit Officer Davis’[s] car, [had] abandoned the ATV, [had] obtained an automobile and [had] continued to flee at a high rate of speed. Based upon what I heard and observed, I suspected that the suspect had stolen the automobile from one of the homes on Nail Street.[1] I did not know if there were any other individuals inside of the car with him. With all of this in mind, I made the judgment call to turn my lights and sirens on and follow the suspect.”

Sgt. Brown pursued Marvin onto the Bessemer Superhighway, where, Sgt. Brown testified, he noted that Marvin was driving recklessly and was exceeding the [1161]*1161speed limit. Sgt. Brown continued to pursue Marvin from the Bessemer Superhighway into Roosevelt City, back onto the Bessemer Superhighway, and, eventually, into the City of Brighton. Sgt. Brown testified that he exercised his discretion throughout the chase, determining at various points whether to continue or to abandon his pursuit. He testified that, during his pursuit, he exceeded the speed limit but that, “[a]t all times during the pursuit, [he] operated [his] emergency vehicle with due care and with due regard for the safety of others.” He also testified that, “[a]t all times, [he] was acting in full compliance with Alabama law and the Midfield Police Department policy.”

Marvin continued to flee through the City of Brighton, until, at the intersection of 48th Street and Huntsville Avenue, the Honda Accord collided with a truck driven by Patrick, in which Patrick’s grandmother, Willie Lee Williams, was a passenger. The collision caused the truck to flip over several times. Willie Lee died at the scene, and Patrick suffered severe injuries.

The testimony is disputed as to the events immediately preceding the collision. Marvin testified in his deposition that he stopped at the stop sign at the intersection of 48th Street and Huntsville Avenue but that he saw Sgt. Brown’s patrol car coming up behind him too quickly to stop. Marvin testified that he knew a collision was imminent, that he closed his eyes, and that he was hit from behind and propelled into the intersection. Marvin also testified that there was damage to the back of the Honda Accord after the collision that had not been there before the collision. However, when asked directly whether Sgt. Brown’s patrol car hit the Honda Accord, Marvin testified that he did not recall.

Sgt. Brown and some of the eyewitnesses testified that Marvin did not stop at the stop sign at the intersection, but continued into the intersection at a high rate of speed, colliding with Patrick’s truck. Sgt. Brown also testified that there had not been, any contact between his patrol car and the Honda Accord. Cliff Prosser, a consulting technician who was asked by the Jefferson County Sheriffs Department to investigate the accident, testified by affidavit:

“[Marvin] failed to stop at the stop sign on the east side of 48th Street’s intersection with Huntsville Avenue, drove into the intersection, and struck the F150 truck. The Honda Accord was traveling substantially in excess of the posted speed limit of 25 miles per hour as it entered the intersection. The speed of the Honda [Accord] was between approximately 49 and 59 miles per hour. Based upon my investigation, the most likely speed of the Honda Accord at the moment of impact is between 51 to 55 miles per hour.
“In my opinion, it is impossible for this collision to have been caused by a collision between the Honda Accord and the police car. In my opinion, it is impossible for the police ear to have hit the Honda Accord at a dead stop at the stop sign on 48th Street and caused it to accelerate to speeds in excess of 50 miles per hour before it hit the truck. I saw no evidence indicating a collision between the police car and the Honda Accord occurred at the intersection of Huntsville Avenue and 48th Street. The damage on the rear of the Honda Accord is not consistent with such a theory. However, the damage on the rear of the Honda Accord is consistent with rotation of the vehicle following its impact with the F150.”

Marvin pleaded guilty in criminal proceedings to charges of manslaughter and first-degree assault and was sentenced to serve time in prison. In May 2010, Pat[1162]*1162rick and the estate sued Marvin in the Jefferson Circuit Court, alleging claims of wrongful death, negligence, and wantonness. Patrick and the estate also sued the Midfield defendants, alleging various negligence claims. The Midfield defendants moved the circuit court to dismiss the claims against them, alleging, among other things, that Officer Davis and Sgt. Brown were entitled to police-officer immunity under to § 6-5-338(a), Ala.Code 1975, and that, because the officers were immune from suit, the claims against Midfield also failed.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
161 So. 3d 1158, 2014 WL 2619862, 2014 Ala. LEXIS 86, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-city-of-midfield-ala-2014.