Helseth v. Burch

• Citation: 109 F.Supp.2d 1066
• Decision Date: 18 August 2000
• Docket Number: No. CIV. 98-140 JRT/FLN.,CIV. 98-140 JRT/FLN.
• Parties: Timothy HELSETH, Plaintiff, v. John BURCH and City of Blaine, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota

109 F.Supp.2d 1066

Timothy HELSETH, Plaintiff, v. John BURCH and City of Blaine, Defendants.

No. CIV. 98-140 JRT/FLN.

United States District Court, D. Minnesota.

August 18, 2000.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

James R. Schwebel, Schwebel Goetz & Sieben, Minneapolis, MN, Robert Bennett and Eric Hageman, Gartner, Bennett & Schupp, Minneapolis, MN, for plaintiff.

Jon K. Iverson, Paul D. Reuvers, Erstad & Riemer, Minneapolis, MN, for defendant Burch.

Pierre N. Regnier and Joseph E. Flynn, Katherine E Kennedy, Jardine, Logan & O'Brien, St. Paul, MN, and Thomas M Sweeney, Sweeney Borer & Ostrow, St. Paul, MN, for defendant City.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ON DEFENDANTS' SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTIONS

TUNHEIM, District Judge.

Plaintiff Timothy Helseth brings this action against defendants John Burch and the City of Blaine, Minnesota (the "City") under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for alleged violations of his rights under the First, Fifth, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution arising from a high-speed police chase. Plaintiff additionally charges defendants with conspiracy to deprive him of his constitutional rights, presumably under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985 and 1986. This matter is before the Court on defendants' motions for summary judgment against all claims.

BACKGROUND

I. The High-Speed Chase

The events upon which plaintiff predicates his claims occurred shortly after midnight on August 22, 1995. While on duty in the City of Blaine, police officer William Bott clocked a car driving at approximately 111 miles per hour. The car, containing an eighteen-year-old driver and three juvenile passengers, proceeded through a stop sign without stopping. Bott began pursuing the vehicle with no knowledge about the vehicle or its passengers other than the fact that they were speeding. Bott activated his lights and siren, but the driver of the car, Everett Contois, did not respond and a high-speed chase ensued. The chase proceeded along 109th Avenue, a wide, two-lane roadway in a relatively rural area with few cross-streets or structures appurtenant to the road. Contois later described it as "the local drag street." Contois proceeded through various stoplights, stop signs and other intersections, including at least one highway intersection, at speeds of approximately 70-80 miles per hour. As the chase continued, Contois, followed by Bott, turned southbound onto University Avenue, a more heavily trafficked, multi-lane roadway. From University Avenue Contois turned onto 101st Avenue and then onto Cloverleaf Parkway, a two-lane roadway proceeding through a residential area.

Defendant Burch was monitoring the chase on his car radio at the intersection of 99th Avenue and Clover Leaf Parkway. Because his own car was closer than Bott's to Contois's vehicle at that intersection, he joined the chase as the primary police car in pursuit. Bott eventually dropped out of the chase at Burch's request.

From Clover Leaf Parkway, Contois turned onto Polk Avenue, a two-lane, residential road. Contois proceeded through several stop signs without slowing down, and continued until he reached a dead-end cul-de-sac at the end of Polk. Contois stopped at the end of the cul-de-sac, but testified that because he felt frightened by Officer Burch he began driving again. He proceeded down a residential driveway, crossed over the lawn of a home, drove over a retaining wall, through a residential backyard, and onto Cottagewood Terrace. Burch followed Contois off-road in pursuit, driving over the same retaining wall and through backyards. Burch testified that he did not see the retaining wall until he was upon it, because visibility at that time of night was limited.

As the chase proceeded down Cottagewood, Burch intentionally rammed his car into Contois's car in order to cause it to spin around and stop, a procedure described by police officers as a "PIT maneuver."¹ This action caused Contois's car to fishtail but was unsuccessful in spinning it around. Burch then rammed the car again with the same result.

The chase proceeded along the service road north of Highway 10. Burch initiated a third PIT maneuver, spinning Contois's car into the ditch between the service road and Highway 10 and causing damage to the car. The vehicle stopped briefly in the ditch when the engine died, but Contois was able to restart it. He drove out of the ditch and onto Highway 10, going eastbound in the westbound lanes into oncoming traffic. Burch followed closely behind. He rammed Contois's car a fourth time, causing it to cross the median on Highway 10 and to proceed eastbound in the direction of eastbound traffic. As a result of all of the hits, Contois's car was severely damaged. The convertible top was partially down, the driver's side window was broken when Contois's head went through it, the trunk was dented and unlatched, and the car began fishtailing and wobbling.

Nevertheless, the chase continued down Highway 10 and onto Highway 65, a fourlane divided roadway. As the chase proceeded out of the limits of the City of Blaine, a Spring Lake Park Police Officer joined in the pursuit behind Burch at speeds of approximately 80 miles per hour. The chase continued onto 81st Street through a residential neighborhood, and towards a heavily trafficked commercial intersection at 81st and University Avenue. The chase ended when Contois entered the intersection against a red light at approximately 80-100 miles per hour and collided with plaintiff's truck. Plaintiff was severely injured in the collision and is now a quadriplegic as a result of his injuries. Another passenger in the truck was killed in the accident. The three passengers in Contois's car were also injured. The entire chase, from the time that Burch joined in, covered a time span of approximately six minutes.

After the chase was over police learned that Contois had been at a party with the three juvenile passengers in his car. During the party, Contois bragged that he could get his car to reach a speed of up to 160 miles per hour. When officer Bott saw the car, Contois was attempting to reach that speed. After the accident, Contois was convicted of third degree murder in addition to criminal vehicular operation and fleeing a police officer.

II. Officer Burch's Employment History & Training

Burch's employment with the City began in June 1978 and continued through February 1999. During that time he received training from the City on the legal aspects of various kinds of police work, including a class on the "Legal Aspects of Emergency Vehicle Operations," and another class on the "Legal Aspects of the Use of Force." Burch took both of these classes prior to the incident resulting in plaintiff's injuries, and testified generally that he had been taught the constitutional limitations that are applicable to police conduct. Burch specifically testified that as a result of his education and experience he was aware that during a high-speed chase a police officer must continually analyze conditions along the chase route and assess whether pursuit should continue. He further testified that when the safety risks of continued pursuit outweigh the benefits of apprehending the suspect, a police officer should terminate the chase. The record reflects that in addition to the legal training he received, Burch also attended a number of driving classes, including two defensive driving classes in March 1983 and May 1989 and a class in pursuit driving in 1979. The record further reflects that Burch represented to the City that he had read and was aware of the City's pursuit and emergency response policies.

During his employment with the City, Burch was involved in a substantial number of traffic collisions while on duty. Twelve of these incidents occurred between September 1978 and June 1989, four of which involved what appear to be high-speed chases.² The City gave Burch a "counseling" session in February 1989 regarding one collision and a verbal warning in June 1983 pertaining to his "frequent accidents with squad cars." The City conducted an investigation into the June 1989 incident, and determined that he had been driving at an unsafe speed for the road conditions. During the investigation, Burch opined to his supervisor that if he had to concern himself with safe driving he could not otherwise perform his job effectively. As a result of this investigation, the City suspended Burch without pay for two days.

The record contains no evidence of additional collisions involving Burch until October 1994. On that date, Burch was involved in another high-speed pursuit during which he implemented PIT maneuvers four times on a stolen vehicle that began traveling in the wrong direction through traffic. According to Burch, he initiated the PIT maneuvers only after assessing that the vehicle had slowed down significantly and that it presented a safety risk to oncoming traffic. Eventually Burch was able to stop the car using the PIT maneuver. No one was injured during the incident, and the City did not discipline Burch as a result of his involvement in it.

The record reflects that Burch was also involved in several traffic collisions after the August 1995 accident at issue in this case. These incidents include accidents resulting from high-speed chases occurring in April 1997, June 1997, and September 1997. It appears that the City did not discipline Burch or otherwise determine that his conduct was improper in connection with any of these incidents. Finally, Burch was involved in a collision with a suspect's vehicle in February 1998. The City investigated the incident and determined that it occurred while Burch was attempting to perform an unnecessary PIT maneuver constituting unreasonable use of deadly force against departmental regulations. The City recommended suspension for a period of twelve days as well as termination of Burch's employment. Nevertheless, union negotiations resulted in a settlement pursuant to which...