Caps & Immunities
was not acting in the performance of emergency service, because he was not pursuing a subject. Schreyer, supra at 106. Te Circuit Court affirmed the ruling of the District Court as did the Court of Appeals. Te Court of Appeals did a lengthy analysis of what
the term pursue meant in context of the statute at hand. Te court first reviewed several dictionary definitions of the term pursuit which were generally defined as to follow or [t]he act of chasing to overtake or apprehend and the Prince George's County Police General Order Manual which uses the word pursuit to discuss a chase or active search for a fleeing person. Schreyer, supra at 109-110. Te Court of Appeals then held in a 4-3 decision that the officer must be engaged in trying to overtake or apprehend or pursue a suspect. Further, the suspect must be moving. Finally, the accident must involve exigent circumstances. Schreyer, supra at 113, 116. Te Court made it clear that the Maryland Legislature did not intend to convert all routine police officer investigations into emergency situations. Id. Since the officer in Schreyer was acting to approach the suspects without any movement by the suspects and without any type of exigent circumstances the Court held that the officer was not engaged in pursuit and thus the immunity statute was inapplicable.
Similarly in Prince George's County v. Brent, supra, the
Court of Appeals upheld a verdict for an injured plaintiff after a jury trial on the issue of immunity. In Brent, a member of the Prince George's County Police Department was involved in a collision with a vehicle when he went through a red light in an intersection. Te case was not decided upon statutory interpretation
but only involved the factual question of whether the officer was involved in emergency service at the time of the collision. Te officer testified that he was on an emergency call to provide back up to an officer who was dispatched to a location where a person had a gun. However, the County’s own records were introduced in evidence and did not show that there was any assisting police unit to the responding officer. Further, the officer deactivated his emergency siren once he had cleared obstructing vehicles at the red light before the collision.2 Te Court of Appeals ultimately held that there were
sufficient facts to support the jury’s factual finding that the officer was not in emergency service when the collision occurred. Brent, supra at 351.
2 Te Court of Appeals pointed out that the failure to use emergency signals does not automatically mean the vehicle was not performing emergency services at the time of the collision but merely takes away an authorized police vehicle's right to proceed in violation of applicable speed limits, traffic devices and other rules of the road. Brent, supra at 350 citing, Taylor v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, 314 Md. 125, 549 A.2d 749 (1988) (other citations omitted).
TM
RINGLER ASSOCIATES
STRUCTURED S The Only Broker
Lou Omansky, J.D., CSSC
LOmansky@ringlerassociates.com
ETTLEMENTS You Need
TM
Richard Ryan, CSSC
RRyan@ringlerassociates.com
Designing and implementing structured settlements for injured parties since 1975
Our focus is on achieving the best possible results for all parties in settlement negotiations using tax–free settlement annuities.
Offering the most competitive annuity prices from all of the leading life insurance companies
We are one of the few companies that truly enjoys the trust of all parties involved in the settlement process.
410-602-1042 ● 410-602-1101 Fax 4 Reservoir Circle ● Suite 101 ● Baltimore, Maryland ● 21208 38 Trial Reporter / Spring 2011
TM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68