Croom v. Town of Burgaw, 174

Decision Date06 March 1963
Docket NumberNo. 174,174
Citation259 N.C. 60,129 S.E.2d 586
PartiesW. S. CROOM v. TOWN OF BURGAW.
CourtNorth Carolina Supreme Court

Lonnie B. Williams and Otto K. Pridgen, II, Wilmington, for plaintiff-appellant.

Corbett & Fisler, Burgaw, Summersill & Browning, Jacksonville, for defendant-appellee.

PER CURIAM.

It has been uniformly held by this Court that a municipality while acting in its governmental capacity, pursuant to legislative authority conferred by its charter, or in discharging a duty imposed for the public benefit, such corporation is not liable for the torts of its officers, unless there is a statute which subjects it to liability therefor.

A police officer duly appointed by a municipality is not an agent or servant of the city or town in the sense that the doctrine of respondeat superior applies. A municipality is not liable in tort for the wrongful acts of its police officers committed in connection with the performance of their duties as such officers. McIlhenney v. Wilmington, 127 N.C. 146, 37 S.E. 187, 50 L.R.A. 470; Parks v. Princeton, 217 N.C. 361, 8 S.E.2d 217; Gentry v. Hot Springs, 227 N.C. 665, 44 S.E.2d 85.

The judgment of the court below is

Affirmed.

MOORE, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.

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6 cases
  • Coleman v. Cooper
    • United States
    • North Carolina Court of Appeals
    • March 15, 1988
    ...a municipality providing police services is engaged in a governmental function for which there is no liability. Croom v. Burgaw, 259 N.C. 60, 129 S.E.2d 586 (1963). By purchasing liability insurance, municipalities in this State waive the defense of governmental immunity to the extent of in......
  • Bryant v. Mullins
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Western District of Virginia
    • September 8, 1972
    ...his duty or employment. Further support is found in North Carolina in a case very similar to the instant case. In Croom v. Town of Burgaw, 259 N.C. 60, 129 S.E.2d 586 (1963), plaintiff sued the town for damages resulting from an alleged unlawful assault upon the plaintiff by the police chie......
  • Cox v. Lamm
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of North Carolina
    • August 28, 2020
    ...Raleigh, 359 N.C. 50, 53 (2004) (internal citations omitted). One such "governmental function" is law enforcement. Croom v. Town of Burgaw, 259 N.C. 60, 61 (1963) (per curiam). Governmental immunity is a jurisdictional bar to state law tort claims. See, e.g., Myers v. McGrady, 360 N.C. 460,......
  • Galligan v. Town of Chapel Hill
    • United States
    • North Carolina Supreme Court
    • January 6, 1970
    ...function. A police officer in the performance of his duties is engaged in a governmental function. As stated in Croom v. Town of Burgaw, 259 N.C. 60, 129 S.E.2d 586: 'A police officer duly appointed by a municipality is not an agent or servant of the city or town in the sense that the doctr......
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